


The Butterfly Effect

by LittleMissMemeshadow



Category: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types
Genre: An Alternate Take on MK9 with a twist, Other, also an AU of sorts as well, ocs are pretty present
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2019-11-03 20:42:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 54,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17884877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleMissMemeshadow/pseuds/LittleMissMemeshadow
Summary: In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. But what if that change was caused by the Butterfly itself?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, I finally got the guts to post this on here. Some of you may recognize this as the same fic that was on FF.Net at one time, but I didn't like how it turned out. (Plus it felt a bit rushed to me.) So I rewrote it and it'll be on here. Also, this fic was kinda made around before I know Kronika was a thing, so keep that in mind. This is just my take on the canon, so don't be too alarmed. About 4 OCs are in this as a heads up as well. I hope you all enjoy, and reviews are always appreciated!

_ "Too long have I allowed Earthrealm to endure the horrors of war..." _

_ The fortress was dimly lit with the tourches. A man in rather ominous attire and pale skin stands before the throne, his fiery eyes gazing at them. A golden amulet that rested on his chest glittered a bit in the light, but that was the least of our concerns. He resumes speaking. _

_ "Time and again we've defeated our enemies. But we've exacted no retribution. Demanded no remuneration. What have we gained for our mercy? More intrigue. More senseless violence!!" He says in anger, clenching his fist. _

_ "As the new rulers of the Netherrealm, heed me. No longer will I simply defend Earthrealm. I will seek out and destroy all who threaten it. No mercy will be shown. No quarter given." To make his point go across, he reaches into the satchel he was carrying, tossing a severed head out of it to the ground. Said head was still alive despite no body to supply it with blood, looking to be in terrible pain.  _

_ "Shinnok was an Elder God. Impossible to kill." He says, before leering at them, saying his final threat to them with venom in his tone. _

**_"There are fates worse than death."_ **

_ He leaves the head there before teleporting away in a crimson red lightning, leaving a scorch mark on the floor. From the severed head of the fallen Elder God, we see the new rulers of the Netherrealm approaching it, regarding it in a joint silence.  _

**"Unacceptable."**

**"What?"**

We now see that what happened above was shown on a large monitor, two white skinned people watching it. One was very tall, and had half her head shaven to appear as if it was a mohawk draping down her side. The other was slightly on the heavy side, sitting at the monitor with an energy drink in hand. 

"What's wrong now?" the one at the monitor says, kicking her sandals off to sit in her chair cross legged. 

"What happens after this?" the tall woman asks. The shorter one closes her eyes, the gem that was where her naval was glowing a bit.

"...Raiden starts a new war with Outworld, which results in the tables being turned when Kotal Kahn invoking Mortal Kombat... things get bloody..." She shivers a bit, opening her eyes.

"Very bloody... it pretty much results in Armageddon all over again, this time with Raiden going power hungry."

The tall woman sighs heavily, shaking her head. "The corruption basically gets worse if I'm hearing this correctly."

"Well, Shinnok was influenced by the One Being. Of course Raiden's soul would get tainted when he did what he did." the short one says, chugging the rest of her drink and crushing the empty can in her hand, "Though, I didn't think it would be to such a degree."

"Is there anything that can be done about it?"

"Not as far as I can tell..." the shorter one starts typing away at the keyboard, another monitor appearing with what looks to be a tree-like image.

"Regardless of the circumstances, in this timeline and it's branching ones, Raiden is doomed to be corrupted by various means. Even me altering the code ever so slightly either does nothing or just delays it. Delaying it proves to be worse, and he really goes off the deep end."

"Yeesh, what about drastic changes to the code?"

"You don't wanna know...." 

The tall one watches the short one shiver a bit, "I still haven't gotten over the one sub timeline where I pretty much put in new code that stops him from going Dark period, yet he still went off the fucking deep in via snapping from all the pressure. What he does to his own defenders in that one is nightmare fuel..."

The tall one was deep in thought, studying the image on the screen carefully. There were many sub branches from the main timeline, and the more she went down, the less she saw. Once she got to the very bottom, she narrows her eyes.

"This all branches from Raiden's own attempt at altering the timeline? Back when he sent his memories to his past self here?" She points to the bottom of the tree.

"Yeah. All of this starts at the tenth tournament." the short one confirms, "It doesn't matter if his future self from the Armageddon timeline sends him the memories or not, every single one of these branches results in his corruption one way or another. With the exception of the this one I kept separate." She points to a seed-like image on the screen far from the tree.

"This one is an experiment of sorts... I've yet to activate it due to the code I have for it not finished yet. But the code I have for it now ensures he can't be corrupted."

"How come you can't apply that to the other timelines?"

"Because there's too many branches of sub-timelines to work off of it: the code can't work for all of them."

"I see..." the tall one falls silent, still studying the screen in silence. If what was said was true, then Raiden couldn't be saved no matter what timeline he was in. She had a feeling it was due to her fellow Elder Gods' incompetence. Either that, or the head Elder God Izanagi's secret grudge against Raiden for being the son of the fallen ones. Either way, she detested them for it regardless. Raiden didn't deserve any of this. He was just trying to do his job, yet he never got his happy ending....

"Azriel?"

She snaps out of her thoughts, looking at the shorter one, who had turned to her with hopeful eyes.

"What is it, Corliss?"

"What if we did another timeline reboot? But this time... we send in someone who we can trust to do the subtle changes and ensure none of this hell happens?" answered Corliss, "I mean, we got plenty of Asali that we can trust. We could send in Tex."

"Corliss, she's a Guide. And even if we could, she doesn't have her updated Kombat Program yet."

"What about Michael then?"

"I've sent him off to a mission in the Badlands for a month. He'll be too busy for this."

Corliss thought about it for a bit before looking like she had another idea.

"What about Rei?"

\----

"So, let me get this straight... you're going to do another reboot of the One Being Realms' Timeline just so you can ensure one person gets a happy ending?" asked the purple haired woman as she sat in another chair, her silver amulet in hand as she polished it with the end of her tunic.

"Rei, it's not like that." Corliss says, cracking open another energy drink, "This reboot will be beneficial to all the One Being Realms, as it can possibly ensure Armageddon is permanently delayed. We just need you to go in and do these changes since you're an "outsider" to the One Being Realms, therefore theoretically, an anomaly."

Rei raises a brow, putting her amulet back on her belt. "A beneficial glitch basically."

Corliss nods. "Yeah. Except while you do these changes, you have some freedom to do as you wish, as long as it doesn't have a negative impact, of course."

"That's like telling me not to destroy Chaosrealm."

"Azriel, you  _ made  _ Chaosrealm. While drunk. The Elder Gods had to create Seido as a result to keep Chaosrealm in check after YOU caused the Tempest during another one of your drunk moments."

"Your point?"

"My point being that we can't let NOTHING kill this new timeline that results due to our reboot. We only have one shot. Gotta make it count.”

Rei thinks it over for a bit before reaching her decision.

“Fine, I’ll do it.” She looks at the monitor, which was showing the courtyard as kombatants gathered. One in particular caught her eye: the non-corrupted Raiden standing there, who looked deep in thought as the monk next to him was looking around. She smirks.

“Only because this Raiden guy is a hot piece of ass~”

“Rei!!” Corliss shouts, “Be polite in front of your mother!!”

“I mean, she’s not wrong.” added Azriel, “Raiden is indeed very handsome.”

“A-Azriel!!!” Corliss shouted louder, “That is inappropriate behavior!!”

“Does it look like I give a fuck?” the Elder God smirks, Rei giggling. Corliss just rolls her eyes.

“Regardless, you understand what to do, Rei?”

“Yup.” Rei gives a thumbs up, standing up, “Alter the timeline when you tell me too and me to try not to alter it too much.”

Corliss nods, turning back to her monitor and starts typing away. She presses a blue button near her keyboard, causing the wall nearby to swivel around, revealing an archway portal. Rei and Azriel watch as Corliss activates it from her monitor with swiftness.

“Now Rei… the second you step through this portal, your mission begin. Be careful with what you say and do, and whatever you do, do NOT let anyone know of your mission. I’m sure Raiden will question it since you won’t be in any of his visions.” explained Corliss. Azriel was about to say something, but Corliss stopped her in her tracks.

“And for the love of Azael, don’t blow anything all to hell.”

“Damn.” Rei snaps her fingers as she stands up, walking towards the portal. Corliss remembers something and goes up to her.

“Wait! Take this too.” Corliss gets a medallion off the table, putting it around Rei’s neck. Rei looks at it curiously.

“A gear? Really?”

“Don’t question it or else I’ll show Zero those pics of you and Solly at the-”

**“LEAVING NOW.”** Rei nervously laughs as she runs into the portal, vanishing. Corliss and Azriel are silent for a bit as the shorter one sits back at the monitor again, taking a swig of her drink.

“....wanna show them anyways?”

“Hell yeah.”


	2. The Journey Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so our journey begins! Right now, it stays baseline, but eventually, the big changes will occur. I know my writing style sucks (dialogue heavy) but that will change in the future when we get to a certain point. For now, enjoy!

On the beach of a large island, a group of boats were docked. A few guards were patrolling around, some chatting amongst each other, while others did their duty in silence. From one of the boats, we can see a figure with a hat emerge when one of the guards wasn’t looking. He looked relieved to finally be out of wherever he was hiding, doing some maneuvering to get past the guards and off the boat. 

“That was easier than I thought…” He says to himself, putting his hat on, “Now to get to the courtyard undetected….”

“Hey!! Intruder!!” 

So much for that.

He sighs, turning to see the guards rushing up to him with their spears drawn. With swiftness, the man in the hat takes them on, doing everything he could to fight them off. Nearby, a portal opens up, Rei stepping out of it and onto the beach, dusting off her tunic.

“Ugh… I feel sluggish…” she complained, stretching a bit, “Couldn’t Mom just send me here directly?”

_ “Fraid not.”  _ Corliss’ voice says in her head,  _ “This is a location in the OBR’s past, and only I have the tech that could send you there.’ _

“Well, that’s just dumb.”

_ “Deal with it. Welcome to Earthrealm, by the way.”  _

Rei looks around, walking forward a bit. She nearly stumbles, and now regrets wearing heels in a sandy area. She stops to take off her heels, walking barefoot on the beach. “It’s not too bad here, it just feels… strange.” 

_ “Well, this is your first time outside of Purgatory. It will take some getting used to.”  _

“Yeah… what’s going on over there?” Rei looks over to see the fight going on. The man in the hat is tossing it like a frisbee at a few of the guards, cutting two of their heads off with it while he kung-fu combos two more into the ground, catching his hat with his hand effortlessly and not cutting himself. However, one more was right behind him, sneaking up with a dagger. She gasps and takes one of her heels before throwing it as hard as she could, knocking the guard square in the face hard enough to knock him out. 

The man in the hat looks at the KOed guard behind him, picking up the shoe in his hand. Rei walks over, stepping over the guards.

“You’re welcome, can I please have my shoe back?”

“This was your doing?”

“Yeah. He was about to backstab you.”

He looks thankful as he gives Rei back her shoe. “Who are you? You don’t seem to be Earthrealmer in origin… are you from Outworld?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’m from somewhere else entirely. Just came to check out the tournament and see if the ones we hold back home even hold a candle to it. Why are you here?”

“Well, one of my fellow monks was chosen to represent Earthrealm in the tournament instead of me.” He answers, “Despite me and him being equals. Both of us here would give Earthrealm a better chance of winning the tenth tournament.”

“This is the tenth one?” She asks, “Geez, y’all suck that much to lose 9 in a row?”

He glares at her a bit, making her wave a hand in dismissal. “I’m just kidding. Outworld is pretty tough. I don’t blame you guys for losing. My realm beat them through a gambit we pulled.”

“Mind if I ask what that was?” the man asked, moving to pick up the unconscious guard’s mask, looking thoughtful.

“Well, my realm’s ruler is a very powerful woman. And she doesn’t take kindly to intruders, yet at the same time, she is one who likes to toy with her opponents.” She explains, watching as he started stripping the guard of his clothes, “So, she hatched an idea. Purposely lose 9 out of 10 tournaments to give Shao Kahn a sense of victory and make him think we were weak. Then, we come to the tenth tournament…”

“What did she do?” He asks, motioning for her to go on.

“For the 9 tournaments before it, she had been secretly training a woman by the name of Ti Fa Rin, teaching her very powerful magic and expert kombat tricks. Ti Fa Rin’s job was to completely and utterly curb stomp Outworld single handedly, all just to piss off the Emperor.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah. It worked a little  _ too  _ well.” Rei says, the man putting on the clothes of the guard, “Shao Kahn was PISSED. He tried to the take the realm by force, but our ruler, satisfied that she was able to essentially troll him out of victory, decided to anger him even further by unceremoniously booting his ass out of the realm with all her power, and used what remained of it to put some sort of lock in our realm. It basically means no one that isn’t my species can get in or out unless someone from my realm takes them out or brings them in.”

The man sets his hat aside to put on the mask, seeing if it fit. “Interesting. Your realm’s ruler seems to be very powerful.”

“She is.” Rei adds, “By the way, what are you doing?”

“Disguising myself as a guard so I can sneak into the tournament.” he answers, kicking up one of the spears into his hands, “They won’t suspect a thing.”

“Nice. You’ll blend in perfectly.” She chuckles, “By the way, what is your name? I’m Rei.” She holds out a hand.

The man accepts her handshake offer. “I am Kung Lao. Very nice to meet you, Rei.”

“Do you know where this courtyard is? I have no clue where to go from here.” she asks, “I’m eager to see if Earthrealm can win this one.”

He picks up his hat, motioning her to follow him. “It’s this way. I’ll take you there as thanks for saving me from a backstab.”

“Sweet.”

“All I ask of you is to not blow my cover, ok?”

“I won’t, I swear.”

\-----

In the center of the courtyard stood a tall man in a bamboo hat, looking calm and quiet as he patiently waited for this tournament to start. Next to him was a monk in red and black, looking as calm and quiet as the other man. Many others had already gathered there, some chatting amongst themselves while others stood quietly. Without warning, the man in the bamboo hat gasps, holding his head in his hand, shutting his eyes. The monk sees this and turns to him.

“Lord Raiden, what is wrong?” he asks.

“Strange visions…” answers Raiden, opening his eyes again. A cracking sound is heard, causing him to take his amulet off his chest and look at it. It had cracked in several places. 

“Your amulet!” the monk sounded worried as he looked at it. Raiden just dismisses it, pinning it back.

“It is nothing, Liu Kang. The tournament begins.”

The two turn to face the throne as a procession of monks walk towards them. A man in sunglasses stood next to a woman who looked to be in the military. Slightly behind them were a trio of men who looked to be dressed as ninjas: one blue, one yellow, and one red. Up on the throne, two woman, one in blue and one in green, flank an elderly man in strange robes, looking akin to a sorcerer. A strange looking humanoid also follows them, large rows of teeth exposed in his face and arms having pointed stone-like growths on it. A Native American man standing on the other side of Raiden watches them cautiously, while near the sunglasses man and army woman stood a white skinned man with tattoos and a man covered head to toe in yellow and gold watch impassively. The monks finish their walk, sitting before the stretch of courtyard meant as the arena. The disguised Kung Lao steps into the pit between the area and the monks with some other guards, keeping quiet. And from behind everyone stepped in Rei, who had put her shoes back on. She was quiet as she leans against the wall, examining everyone as the elderly man on the throne started speaking.

"Kombatants, I am Shang Tsung!" He announced, "In the coming days, each of you will fight. Some are here of their own violation, others were brought here by chance…." As the sorcerer scanned the Kombatants, he then noticed that there was an extra one in the very back, looking furious.

“...and one that was uninvited.” He says, pointing at Rei, “Leave this place, Asali!!” 

Rei barely had time to react before three spears were pointed at her neck, her hands in the air.

“Hey, hey, hey!!” she says, “What the hell did I do? I just got here!!” Her expression went from shock to smugness.

“Or are you still salty about your loss against my mother and realm?”

“You befoul this place….” hissed Shang Tsung, “Rubbing salt in the wound…”

Rei just casually bends all three spears with her hands, kicking the guards in the nuts before walking forward, the others moving away.

“As much as I would love to, that isn’t why I am here.” She says. Kung Lao held his spear towards her just to keep his facade up, “I’m merely a spectator in this. If I really wanted to rub salt in the wounds, I would have. Now, unless I actually do something you disapprove of, you will back off.”

“....how can we trust you?” he asks.

“Well, for starters, I didn’t kill those three.” She points to the guards as she struggled to get up, “And the Elder Gods don’t seem to disapprove of me here either, so…. Yeah.” She just shrugs, “Haven’t done anything wrong yet.”

Shang Tsung thinks it over a bit before glaring at her.

“Your death will be swift if you assist any Earthrealmer.” He threatens, “Otherwise, you are free to spectate.”

“Wonderful, now continue with your rousing speech, old timer.” she grins, his glare sharpening before fading away so he could continue the speech. She walks back to the others, standing near Raiden. As Shang Tsung resumed his speech, the sunglasses man turns to his right to the army girl.

“Hey, beautiful. Johnny Cage.” He introduces himself with a smile.

“Good for you.” She says in a deadpan tone, not seeming to care.

Johnny looks upset at her response. "What? 'Massive Strike', 'Citizen Cage', 'Ninja Mime'? None of these ring a bell?" he asked. She ignored him in favor of watch the new kombatant enter the arena.

"Kano…" She all but growled in anger, Johnny raising a brow in confusion.

"'Kano'? Wasn't in that one…."

"You participate in the most important Mortal Kombat in history!" Shang Tsung spoke, much to Rei's amusement as she mockingly waved at him, which earned a glare from the sorcerer, but he continued anyways.

"This tournament, the tenth after nine Outworld victories, will determine Earthrealm's fate. If you defeat all of your opponents, you will face one final challenge… me." The sorcerer finished.

Johnny grinned at the thought. "Huh! That old geezer's the final challenge? They might as well give me the belt right now. They do have belts, right?"

A cough is heard behind Johnny, prompting him to turn around and nearly jump at the sight of Shang Tsung behind him. "What? How did you…"

"Looks can be deceiving." He answered before levitating back to his throne. Once he sat down, he spoke again. "Our first kombatant will be Mr. Cage!"

The man in question laughs defiantly and strides forward.

"That's right! That's right! Who's it gonna be?" He asked, looking ready to kick some ass.

"Reptile!" Shang answered without missing a beat, prompting Johnny to look towards the rooftop of the arena. A reptilian creature materializes on the rooftop, having observed them while invisible, and jumps to the arena floor to the monks' applause.

Johnny actually looked impressed. "Nice stunt! Who's your agent?"

"Begin!" Shang Tsung announced, prompting both kombatants to get into a battle stance.

"Alright, it's showtime!"

The battle begins. Rei moves to stand closer to Raiden, now able to get a better look at him. She grins. Raiden was very nice to look at up close. However, he notices her staring from the corner of his eye.

“It is not polite to stare, madam.” he says, getting Rei’s attention. She tilts her head.

“I’m no madam, big guy. I’m not that old. At least not yet.” she says, “Who are you anyways?”

Raiden looks at her. “You have not heard of me?”

Rei shook her head. “Nope. The odds of me knowing who you are are the same as this realm spontaneously turning into a grapefruit. And I’m pretty sure that applies vice versa as well.”

Liu Kang snorts a bit in amusement at such a comparison. Raiden doesn’t seem to object to it either.

“Who are you?”

“Rei, guardian of Purgatory and Goddess of Darkness.” She answers, flashing her still intact amulet, “Come here on behalf of my mother to see how things go. Also partly due to me wanting to see an old guy get his ass kicked. And you?”

Raiden seems surprised at the sight of her amulet and what she had said. So he wasn’t the only realm guardian here. However, he felt a bit on edge at knowing she was a deity whose dominion was that over darkness. She didn’t seem too threatening despite kicking three people in the family jewels earlier. 

“Raiden, guardian of Earthrealm and God of Thunder.” he answers her finally, flashing his amulet at her. Rei tilts her head.

“Why is it cracked?”

“I have no idea.”

“Wow. You’re helpful.”

“And your insolent tongue will get you nowhere.”

Rei just blows a rasp at him. “It’s sorta my thing, Raiden. You think I’m bad, my mother is worse.” She takes the opportunity to look him over again.

“Modest, much?” she jokes, Raiden glaring at her a bit.

“I do not feel the need to dress otherwise.” he says, “Unlike you…”

“Hey, don’t hate.” She gently punches his arm, “In a way, we’re dressed the sa- DUCK!!” 

She, Raiden, and Liu Kang quickly duck to dodge the airborne Reptile, who crashes through a wall nearby. The Dark Goddess laughs.

“That’s your last big hit, buddy!!” she taunts. 

“You got Caged!!” Johnny taunted as well behind them. The actor continues to gloat while Liu Kang and Raiden watched with equal amounts of disgust. Rei just grins.

“He’s got the bark and the bite to back it up.” 

It was then Johnny stalked up to several of the observing kombatants.

"And I'm taking you down, I'm taking you down, I'm taking you out, I'm taking you out, and I'm taking you out…" Johnny now stood in front of the army woman, "…for dinner." He snickered at her disdainful reaction. The sorcerer didn't look impressed, and neither did Rei, but she remained silent while he spoke.

"Your second challenge, Mr. Cage. Baraka!" He announced as the Tarkatan roared loudly and jumped to the arena floor to the applause of the monks.

"Hmm… ok, nice makeup, but is it really necessary?" Johnny asked. Baraka only unsheathed his blades in response. "Whoa!"

"They will taste your flesh!" Baraka threatened before they started fighting. Despite having already fought a rather intense battle with Reptile, Johnny still had enough stamina to fight Baraka. Rei watches quietly, but then gets an idea. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she speaks.

“Hey, shove his blade up his ass!!” 

Raiden and Liu Kang both look at her in mutual shock, but she just grins as Johnny found the idea rather appealing and does just that, much to everyone’s complete shock and Rei’s laughter.

“OH SWEET ELDER GODS, HE DID IT!!” She howled in laughter, falling over. Raiden had a hand over his mouth, Liu Kang had his over his ears, and the Native American man had his over his eyes at the sight. Johnny looks smug as hell as he stands there, catching his breath. Shang Tsung couldn’t get mad, for he did find it a bit funny himself. 

"Man, I love those blades!" Johnny complimented as he caught his breath, "My agent has got to meet you! We're doing 'Tommy Scissorfists' and…"

"Congratulations, Mr. Cage." Shang Tsung cut him off after he finishes chuckling under his breath, "Now, FINISH HIM!"

“He’s already finished…” Rei giggles, Raiden zapping her in response, the girl yelping loudly at that and glaring at him, “Bitch…”

"Finish him? Yeah, right!" Johnny said, standing up straight. Shang Tsung's expression didn't change.

"Kill him!" He ordered. It was then Johnny looked to the crowd. The yellow and red ninjas look on in anticipation, as did the other yellow one and the tattooed man. It was there that the actor finally realized what he had gotten himself into and threw his hands in the air.

“Whoa! Whoa, whoa, wait a second! I'm not gonna kill anyone!" He shouted in protest. Liu Kang throws a confused look at Raiden, who takes in the scene impassively. Rei, however, seemed rather bored and yawned.

_ “We would be better off without Baraka, honestly. Too bad you can’t straight up kill him.”  _ mused Corliss, Rei nodding.

"Very well." Shang Tsung stated, standing up from his chair, "The tournament will resume at dawn!" And with that, he turned around and departed. The monks all rise and did the same.

"What, that's it? Really?" Johnny asked, earning no answers in return. He shrugged it off and turned around, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Now, where'd that hottie go?" He mused as he starts to leave, only to find Liu Kang, Raiden, and Rei walking up to him. Raiden was first to speak.

"You fought well." The Thunder God complimented. Johnny grinned.

"Thanks. Nice hat." This seemed to bother the Shaolin Monk, as he decided to speak.

"You should be more respectful of Lord Raiden." He scolded, "He is the protector of Earthrealm, the God of Thunder, the-"

"Look, I don't know what kind of role playing you guys are into, but count me out." Johnny cut him off. He then saw Rei and smiled again.

“Hey there, you’re pretty cute.” he says with a grin.

Rei just gives him a sour look. “You wanna keep your manhood?”

Without missing a beat, Johnny decided it was best to leave choosing to indeed keep his manhood, but Liu Kang stops him in his path.

"This tournament is more than a chance for personal glory." He spoke, "We are fighting for the very survival of Earthrealm."

"What are you talking about?" The actor asked in confusion.

"You last opponent was Tarkatan. He was born with those blades." Raiden explained.

Johnny scoffed. "Yeah, those things are real." He said, his tone filled with sarcasm. Two guards picked up Baraka's unconscious form and carry him off, being mindful of where one of the blades was at.

"He represents Outworld. Had you lost, the emperor Shao Khan would have come one step closer to physically absorbing our world into his." Raiden continued. Rei decided to throw her two cents in. 

"Outworld is a plague on the realms. We’d be much better off without it, but due to some fate mumbo-jumbo, it’s part of the Big 6 that are necessary for the realms to live. However, if it takes Earthrealm, you’re fucked.” 

"Outworld, yeah right, right…" He shrugged it off. Raiden looked slightly annoyed.

"The Elder Gods created the Mortal Kombat tournament to give Earthrealm a chance to defend itself. But if we lose this time, Shao Khan will conquer all." He once again explained.

"Dun dun dunnn!" Johnny dramatically threw his arms up in the air, Rei sighing in annoyance at that, shaking her head. He continues talking.

"…look guys, I'm an actor. I save the world for the cameras. If this emperor is really a threat, call the military. Me, I've got a date with a blonde. Ciao!" He slapped Raiden on the arm and proceeded to leave. Rei loosens one of her shoes and kicks it off in his direction, hitting him on the butt. He yelps, but says nothing, glaring at her through his sunglasses before leaving. 

"What do you see in him?" Liu Kang asked Raiden, the Thunder God not missing a beat with his response.

"He is a hero, Liu Kang, though he may not know it yet." he says, watching Rei reclaim her shoe and slip it back on. 

“I’m going with Liu Kang here. That guy’s kind of a douche.” she says, walking back over to them, “I don’t appreciate being hit on.”

Raiden mumbles something under his breath, Liu Kang unable to make it out. He just assumes it had something to do with what she said.

\----

On a bridge far above a large pit filled with spikes, the army woman was speaking into her wrist comm.

"Triangulating your signal for evac, but…"

The radio on her wrist comm becomes briefly distorted for a second before a voice was heard, "….there is no island."

"I'm standing on it!" She assured, "Just lock into my wrist comm!" She didn't notice Johnny walking onto the bridge and smiling.

"Understood. What is your current status?" The voice from the comm asked.

"They have Jax. And if I don't fight in this crazy tournament, they'll kill him. I'm gonna try to-"

"Need help?" Johnny cut her off, "I specialize in rescuing damsels in distress."

The woman looked very annoyed and said, "You again. Listen, I've got serious problems here. I'm in no mood to be hit on by some movie star."

"C'mon, a girl like you shouldn't be wandering around this freak show alone." The actor attempted to justify, only to earn a sigh from her before she walked off. He then went to grab her by the arm.

"Look, baby, I can't let you run loose without an escort." This was a bad move on Cage's part, as she proceeded to punch him in the stomach and across the face, knocking him down and assuming a fighting stance.

"I don't need an escort, and I'm sure as hell not your baby!" She said in anger as Johnny got up and proceeds to get in a brawl with him. 

\-----

“So far, so good!” Corliss muses happily, kicked back in her chair. Azriel was laying on a couch nearby, sipping on a margarita and looking relaxed.

“Yes, things seem to be moving well. How is that Temporal Tree thing looking?” she asks. Corliss pulls it up on a separate screen. The tree-like formation looked to be slowly shrinking, some of the smaller sub-branches starting to vanish. 

“We’re already having an effect.” Corliss muses, “It’s gonna be slow, but we’ll get there.”

“Wonderful.” 

Corliss switches back to the other monitor showing the woman and Johnny’s fight. “Geez, Sonya is whooping his ass.”

“Of course, she’s had military training.” Azriel gets up, walking over and still sipping her drink, “Want a sip?”

“What is it, Peach Daiquiri?” Corliss says as she takes the drink from her, the Elder God nodding as she got a good swig of it.

“Oh wow, this is good.”

“No getting drunk on the job, Lissy.”

“Damn, I was gonna ask you to make me one.”

“Maybe later.”

\----

After a few minutes, Johnny comes out victorious.

"Ha haaa! Not bad for a… girl…" He seemed to regret getting caught up in the moment and offered a hand to Sonya, "Look, sorry about that…"

She slapped his hand away. "I don't need your help." Johnny simply shrugs.

"Fine. Have it your way. I'll just leave you to your… problems."

"Good idea!" The actor was then grabbed from behind and thrown off the bridge by a familiar sleazeball from earlier: Kano. "Now that he's softened you up, it's my turn!"

"Not man enough for a fair fight?" Sonya sneered.

"I don't do 'fair'." Kano answered without missing a beat, using his eye beam to blast Sonya with, the woman shouting in pain, "No need to get up, love."

Down below, Johnny has grabbed onto one of the spikes protruding from the bridge, clinging to it for dear life. He tries pulling himself up, but is having trouble doing so. 

"So tell me… how are things at Command?"

"Bastard!"

More screams from Sonya as Kano continued to blast her again and again. 

"Gullible bitch. Just had to point you in the wrong direction. Couldn't have done it without ya!"

"S.F. is on the way. You won't get far."

"Oh, I got a knack for survival. You, on the other hand, are gonna die here."

That right there enraged Johnny, empowering him enough to pull himself up, flipping back onto the bridge. 

"Step away from the lady!" He demanded as he stalked toward Kano, dusting himself off, "Fans think my moves are all wire work and special effects. Truth is… I AM the special effects." With that, Johnny sucker punched Kano, starting a fight. 

Sonya coughs a bit as she sits up, watching the two brawl. As she watches them, she sees Rei on the other bridge, tilting her head. She wondered what she was doing.

Down on said bridge, Rei was walking around, talking to Corliss.

“So, things are going as intended?” 

_ “Yeah, the sub-branches are starting to vanish. Once they vanish, the main ones will follow suit.” _

“That’s good.” She grins, nodding, “So far, they’ve been pretty nice to me. Though, Raiden’s a bit of a stubborn ass from what I can tell.”

_ “That’s just how he is, Rei.”  _ Corliss says,  _ “He’s just strong willed and stuff. Though, I doubt he even saw what you told Johnny to do coming. That face is meme-worthy.” _

“I couldn’t help myself.” Rei laughs out loud, “Anyways, I better get back before the next round starts. Mom, you better stay out of my Green Rosella stash.”

_ “Try me, bitch.”  _ Azriel speaks, Rei rolling her eyes as she heads for the courtyard, unaware of what had just happened on the bridge across from her.

Kano is knocked unconscious via Johnny elbowing him hard in the face, falling to the ground while the actor stood over him. 

“Throw that on your… barby… shrimp." Johnny fumbled a bit. He goes over and offers to help Sonya up. This time, she accepted.

“Thanks.”

"No problem. Who was that guy anyway?" The actor asked.

"His name's Kano." Sonya began to explain, "He was an informant in our Black Dragon investigation. Big-time arms dealers. Turns out he was their leader and giving us the runaround. Lot of our guys got killed because of him."

Johnny's eyes widened behind his sunglasses. "So that's not a costume? You're actual military?" He asked.

Sonya nodded. "Special Forces."

"Get out!" Johnny gasped, "So you know about this 'threat to the world' stuff, right? Raiden called in the cavalry."

"Raiden?" Sonya looked confused, "No idea who you're talking about." She looks around, and then notices something.

“Dammit!” She says, “He’s gone!!”

“What?” Johnny looks around, noticing he was indeed gone.

“Where’d he go?!” Sonya looks over the edges and everywhere.

“I dunno, but he can't be far." Johnny assured.

"He'll have to wait." Sonya offered her hand to the man, "I appreciate your help, Cage."

The actor accepted it and shakes it. "Johnny." He corrected. Sonya didn't seem to heed it.

"But right now I've got things to take care of. My C.O. is locked up on this island somewhere. I have to find him." With that, Sonya walked away, leaving Johnny to watch her in admiration. 


	3. Of Pits and Mayhem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much going on, but now the Earthrealmers may have another potential problem in the future.

She was bored.

And when an Elder God is bored, no good would certainly come out of it.

Azriel sat in Corliss’ chair, monitoring the island while Corliss left to go get some more snacks from one of the shops. It wasn’t like she didn’t enjoy it, Azriel was more bothered by the fact that Corliss was taking _forever_. And she just wanted something fun to do while this timeline reboot was going on.

“Hurry up already…” she grumbles, watching as everyone was gathering back at the courtyard for some more fights, with the exception of Sonya, which Azriel didn’t seem to notice. Rei was with Raiden and Liu Kang again, stretching a bit. And judging from the two mens’ reactions, she had popped something rather loudly. She chuckles.

“Love that he hasn’t decided to be a little curious…” She muses while watching Raiden. Either he noticed and was celibate, he noticed and was being polite and not saying anything, or he was just too damn oblivious. Johnny for a fact must have noticed it, or else he wouldn’t have tried to hit on her. While Azriel did recall Rei’s last fling with someone with a similar personality, she knew Rei wasn’t interested in him at all. Speaking of curiosity, an idea popped into her head, making the Elder God perk up. She looks over at the portal, then at the monitor, a smirk on her face.

“Hmm... “

It wouldn’t be too harmful for her to have some fun too.

_(30 minutes later…)_

“Hey Azriel, sorry I took so long, was talking with General Ori-” Corliss was cut off by the sight of an unguarded monitor, an activated portal, and a sticky note on the screen of said monitor. She sets the bags of snacks and drinks on a table taking her seat back while pulling the sticky note off the monitor, reading it.

_I couldn’t possible let Rei have all the fun, now could I? So I decided to hop in~_

_- With Love, your Elder God Azriel._

_P.S. I saw what you’ve bookmarked on your computer. You are lucky General Orion has a sense of humor._

“Oh no…” Corliss looks to be panicking, swapping through the various monitors to try and locate the Elder God, “D-Dammit, Azriel!! You could be endangering the timeline with your presence!!” She soon found her on the beach area of the island, a shovel in hand and letting the salty breeze of the sea hitting her.

“Azriel, the hell are you doing?!” She says into a mic. Azriel grins.

_“About to have a little fun. Is there a problem?”_

“Yes, there’s a problem!! You being in this reboot can potentially endanger it!!”

_“Lissy, I’m responsible for all magic in the realms. If anything goes wrong, I’ll just blow it up.”_

“That logic doesn’t apply everywhere! You did that to the realm of Uekyuu and wiped out the entire Shinigami race!”

_“Their fault for thinking I was joking. And it was totally worth seeing Izanagi that pissed.”_

“Ugh.. times like this make me miss Azael… he kept your tendencies in check.” Corliss slouched in her seat, frowning. Azriel just chuckles before she started digging a hole.

_“Exactly. I have little impulse control. That’s why I have you~”_

“Just… please don’t blow up anything.”

_“No promises.”_

~~~~~~~~~~

Something felt off. Very off. Raiden just couldn’t figure out what it was while the fight between two kombatants whose names he didn’t bother remembering took place. Rei was yawning in boredom, pouting a bit.

“Fights back home were much more entertaining and full of energy. There’s none of that here.” she says.

“These fights aren’t meant to be entertaining…” Raiden trails off, unable to shake the feeling that there was a powerful presence on the island somewhere. One greater than his or Rei’s, though in Rei’s case, he could sense it was weakened. Perhaps her powers were limited here due to not being her home realm? “...do you sense something strange?”

She blinks. “...now that you mentioned it, I do.” She looks around, “Should we be concerned?”

“I would be.” He frowns, looking around. Rei stops him before he could walk away.

“I’ll go look. You stay here.” She offers, “Someone’s gotta keep an eye Shemp Trash.”

Liu Kang stifles a chuckle at that, Raiden nodding, watching her leave the courtyard. It’s a few minutes before Liu Kang speaks.

“I’m calling him that from now on.” He says with a smirk, Raiden just sighs, shaking his head.

Outside the courtyard, Rei was looking around, the guards still wary of her. The three that she kicked in the groins backed away when she came near, not wanting another kick to the family jewels. She recognized one as Kung Lao due to him not moving away or having his weapon drawn at her, to which she just gave a faint nod as she passed him by.

 _“Um… Rei?”_ Corliss’ voice says, Rei perking up, waiting until she was far enough from the guards to speak.

“What is it? Did Mom blow something up again? Or did General Orion land a god-tier Lucksman shot again and wasn’t gonna tell me about it?” she asks, still looking around.

_“No, it’s worse than that, and he had video proof of it this time. I’ll send it to you after this is done.”_

“At least he proofed it for once….”

 _“Rei, I’m not going to sugar coat it…”_ Corliss says before telling her what was going on.

The resulting scream of terror could be heard throughout the island, some birds flying out of trees and startling everyone at the courtyard, Raiden included, the Thunder God losing his composure for a second.

“That sounded like your new lady friend, Lord Raiden.” Liu Kang smirks, Raiden glaring at him.

“Do you wish to feel my judgement?”

“Nope.”

“Then silence.”

~~~~~~~

Deep underground, in a prison dungeon filled with rotting corpses, some hanging on meat hooks, Sonya walks in, looking around for something. While she wasn’t really unnerved by all that, the smell was just unbearable.

“Jax, Jax, are you in here?” She calls out, hoping that they were here. She peeks into a few of the cells, not seeing anything. She looks over to see the man in question leaning against the bars of his cell, gripping it weakly. He looked like he had gotten the hell beat out of him twice before one more time for good measure. Sonya gasps, running over.

“Oh my god, what did they do to you?!” She asks.

Jax shook his head, looking to be in a lot of pain. “Run, girl…. Run…” he tells her. Sonya doesn’t heed it, grabbing at the bars to see if she could do something to free him, not noticing Shang Tsung entering the prison, two guards flanking him.

“Miss Blade! You do not disappoint. I have been expecting you.”

Sonya turns around to face him, looking pissed. “Let him go! We’re not part of your tournament!”

“On the contrary, you are very much a Kontestant.” He corrects, looking smug, “You will face Sub-Zero, of the Lin Kuei clan of assassins.”

As he said that, an ice statue formed out of nowhere in the shape of a man before shattering, the Chinese warrior emerging from it. Sonya gets ready to fight, looking angry.

“Now, you feel death’s cold embrace….” he threatened before the fight started. Shang watches with amusement before remembering that there’s an Asali running around that was potentially planning something. Turning to his two guards, he gives them a serious look.

“Find that Asali. Find her and keep a close eye on her. I do not believe for a minute that she is here to merely spectate the tournament. She isn’t to be trusted.”

“Yes sir.” One guard says, heading out. The other starts to follow him, but seems to be a bit slower in walking. Shang notices, but says nothing.

~~~~~~~

_“I swear she was at the beach earlier.”_

“She’s not here, Corliss!”

Corliss’ heavy sigh was heard as Rei walks along the beach again. She was carrying her heels again, looking around to see if she could find Azriel. Rei really hated when Azriel made these kinds of decisions. They usually resulted in things blowing up, some unholy abomination getting created, or some unholy abomination getting created, _then_ getting blown up either by Azriel’s hand once she saw the eldritch abomination she created or by Rei and her friends out of sheer terror of what it could do.

“Are you sure she’s even in this world at all? She usually makes some sort of grandeur appearance.” Rei says, taking a break to look around again.

_“She’s definitely there, but due to her status, I can’t track her reliably.”_

The Asai groans in annoyance, frowning. Before she says anything, she sees something up ahead.

Up ahead was a shovel popping in and out of the ground, shoveling away sand and digging a hole. “I… think I found her.” Rei says, running towards it.

In said hole was Azriel, singing some sort song as she was digging away. “Too late to run, too late to hide~ There is no escape when she’s hunting you, and she’s hunting you tonight~”

“MOM!!!” Rei yells as she arrives, standing before the hole that was already as deep as her mother was tall, which was about 10 ft, “What are you doing here?!”

“Oh, hello sweetie! I’m digging a hole, what does it look like?” Azriel answers calmly with a serene smile, Rei groaning in frustration.

“You didn’t just come here to dig a hole, I know better than that.” She says, tapping her foot on the ground, “You’ve come to do something, and that something most likely isn’t good.”

“Oh, you can read me like a book!” Azriel chuckles, stopping to turn to her, “I got bored, so I decided to join in on your little escapade! And by join in, I mean screw with Outworld and maybe bomb Arnyek while I’m at it with glitter bombs. Glitter is Lucifer’s Dust after all.”

“I’m more surprised you haven’t caused the other Elder Gods to go into a tizzy yet.” Rei sits on the edge of the hole, watching her mother continue to dig. Azriel was extremely unpredictable sometimes, and Rei really wished she could see what went on in her mother’s mind. Then again, after what her brother saw, Rei would always have second thoughts about it.

“Let them get mad, they won’t do anything.” Azriel sneers, stopping her digging, “They’re lazy. They’ve always been lazy ever since what befell Shinnok. And even if they did, what are they gonna do? Banish me to the Netherrealm? I got my own realm, I’ll just stay there.”

 _“I haven’t seen the Elder Gods do a competent thing in my entire life. And I was alive at the tail end of the war, albeit I was still a kid.”_ said Corliss as she threw her two cents in. The sound of a can cracking open is heard.

“Lissy, can me.” Azriel orders. A energy drink falls out of the sky, Azriel cracking it open herself.

Rei just looks at how deep the hole is already. “...how deep are you making this pitfall?”

“Deep enough.”

“Okay then…”

_“Make it at least 20 ft to ensure that no one gets out of it.”_

“Duly noted.”

“You both are nuts…” Rei shook her head with a giggle. Azriel just grins, chugging the entire drink in one go, crushing the can in her hand until it was nothing but a tiny metal ball, and with a loud “YEET”, throws it in the direction of the courtyard before resuming her digging. Rei just blinks.

“...I oughta get back before they notice I’m gone this long. I already have a feeling Shit Truck’s catching on.” Rei says, getting up. “Be careful, Mom.”

“Careful’s my middle name.” Azriel beams, “Oh wait… I don’t have a middle name!!”

 _“Was gonna say I thought your middle name was Danger, cause that’s all you cause when you are not on the throne.”_ Corliss adds, Rei giggling as she starts walking away.

“Say hi to Raiden for me!” Azriel yells after her, Rei giving a thumbs up.

~~~~~~~~~

The fight was long, hard, and a little too cold for Sonya’s comfort, but she finally had the cryomancer out cold on the floor. Shang Tsung didn’t look impressed at all, simply watching her with a look of disdain.

“Done! We’re leaving!” Sonya commands, going over to get Jax out of his cell. Shang Tsung moves to stop her, heading her direction. But both were cut off by a flash of lightning, Raiden appearing before her. He had a small wound on his head that he was rubbing, looking very annoyed. In his other hand was a tiny metal ball. Sonya wasn’t having it despite being a little concerned.

"Stand in my way and I'll kick your a-"

"A challenge?" Shang Tsung cut her off. Just as that was said, Raiden suddenly gasped. In his mind was a flashback of Liu Kang defeating Shang Tsung with a flying kick. He then got between the two with haste.

"No. You will not be the one to challenge Shang Tsung." He told Sonya. Unfortunately, she saw it as Raiden trying to protect the sorcerer and took a fighting stance once more.

"You want some too? Fine by me!" She spoke before promptly punching the Thunder God in the face, Raiden growling in pain as it just made his head hurt even more. First the metal ball out of nowhere, now this? Now he was pissed.

“Do NOT provoke a God!” He proclaims before they start a fight. Shang Tsung makes the right decision and steps back, watching the fight go on. He felt like he should mention that Raiden shouldn’t even be fighting any of the competitors at all due to the rules, but at the same time, he was directly challenged when Sonya punched him in the face, and Shang Tsung was one to see his opposition tear at each other’s throats from the inside. So the sorcerer just quietly watched.

“She’s always doing this….” Jax sighs from his cell, looking very annoyed that Sonya’s temper got the best of her again. He just wanted out of here and needed an e-vac pronto.

Nothing but the sounds of metal clanging and lightning crackling was heard for a good while. During that time, the one guard who walked slowly had returned, pulling his sleeve over a peculiar arm guard with a dragon it. Shang Tsung didn’t even know he was there until he spoke.

“Sir, no sign of the Asali yet.” The guard says, his voice sounding a bit odd. Shang Tsung doesn’t question it. He never really kept track of the guards.

“She’ll pop back up eventually.” Shang Tsung says right as a loud “thud” was heard, followed by the ground shaking a bit as a result.

“Geez, how much do you weigh?” Sonya pants, looking at the downed Raiden, the Thunder God looking incredibly offended, “I could feel that collision…”

“That is NONE of your concern!” Raiden looks ready to shock her again, but he’s grabbed by the shirt collar.

“Enough of this, I got more important things to take care of.” Sonya drew her fist back, ready to punch him unconscious. However, Raiden saw it as a perfect opportunity for Sonya to get Jax out.

“Shield your eyes.”

“...what?”

 _“Shield your eyes.”_ Raiden repeated, his eyes crackling with electricity. A blinding flash envelopes the surrounding area, Sonya managing to get an arm in front of her face in time. The others weren't so lucky as they were blinded by the flash. The one strange guard wasn’t fazed, getting out of there quickly. With them blinded, the blonde went over and destroyed the bars on Jax's cell with her wave energy blast. She got him out and supported him the best she could.

"Jax, come on! We're outta here!" She told the man.

"'Bout time…" Jax weakly answered as they left. Raiden soon picked himself up, watching as the the lone masked guard went after the two. Shang Tsung looked over at Raiden.

"You aided their escape." he says to the Thunder God.

"You _allowed_ them to escape." Raiden corrects the sorcerer, Shang Tsung just rolls his eyes.

"They will not get far…" He assured before leaving. Once he was gone, Raiden just groans, clutching his head in pain.

“Why must Gods suffer the punishment that is headaches?”

~~~~~~~

It was now evening time as Sonya struggled to keep Jax moving. The older man looked ready to pass out at any second. "Come on Jax! Move it! That's an order!" She ordered, earning a weak chuckle from said man.

"Oh… so you're in charge now?" He asked. Sonya didn't answer as she spoke into her wrist communicator.

"Special Forces Command, this is Sonya Blade! Where's that evac?"

_"Blade, they are en route… coming to you shortly…"_

"Affirmative!" She looked at Jax, "Almost home, soldier." Sonya assures. Jax looks relieved, but it’s short lived as they hear footsteps approaching them. Turning, they saw Kitana and Jade strutting their way towards them, looking like they owned the place.

“By the order of Shang Tsung, no one leaves this island.” Kitana says with authority.

“I don’t have time for this!!” Sonya says, her patience wearing very thin, “Outta my way!!”

Jax was going to help her fight Kitana, but decides against it, just sitting back to watch. Rei comes out from the forest, nearly getting her head cleaved by one of Kitana’s fans.

“That’s one way to welcome me back…” she frowns, dodging the fighting to go meet Jax, “Also, hello new person~”

“The hell are you?” Jax says, looking at her, “You one of them?”

“Do I look like one of them?” Rei deadpans, pointing at herself, “I dress a little more modest than they do, pal! And hello, my skin’s whiter than snow and I got frickin’ elf ears!”

“You call that outfit modest?” Jax jokes, Rei huffing and stomping the ground. She could hear Corliss laughing her ass off, but wasn’t able to do a thing about it, lest she blow her cover.

“Screw you too.” She sits next to him, watching the fight, “What happened to you? You look like you got clobbered with a meat hammer. Repeatedly.”

“Heh… that's what it felt like.” Jax starts to explain what happened to him, the two occasionally dodging stray projectiles and bullets. Rei listens carefully while making sure nothing hit either of them. By the time Jax got done telling his story, Sonya had Kitana and Jade down on the ground.

“Sure don’t need anymore surprises like them.” Sonya goes over to check on Jax. She sees Rei, but doesn’t comment on it too much.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine.”

“Liar. After I get you back to the base, I’m coming back. Kano’s still on this island somewhere.”

“Your obsession with him is gonna get you killed.”

“...I trusted him.”

“We all did.”

“Yoooo, Romeo and Juliet, your ride’s here.” Rei cut in, pointing to the sky.

Sonya looks very happy, waving her arms to get the pilots’ attention. However, a giant fireball out of nowhere shoots it down, the three gasping in horror. Rei looks to see Shang Tsung walking toward them, hand still on fire. Flanking him was Kano, who was messing with his knives.

“For once in your life, Sour Tart, can you like, fucking STOP.” Rei complains. Shang Tsung ignores her.

“Damn you!” Sonya growls.

“You have a challenger.” Shang Tsung says, “Kano.”

Kano steps forward, a wicked grin on his face. Rei helps Jax away to a safer distance while Sonya looks extremely done with the world.

“Pretty boy ain’t gonna save you now!” Kano declares, getting the first hit in.

“So that’s Kano?” Rei asks Jax once they were at a safe distance.

“Yeah… leader of the Black Dragon.” He confirms, “We were originally trying to track the leader so we can put a stop to their black market dealings and all that, and Kano posed as an informant to throw us off the trail… lost a lot of good people as a result.”

“What a snake…” Rei growls, “People like him would get skinned alive in my realm.”

“You speaking metaphorically or literally…?” asked Jax, looking at her with concern. Rei just shrugs.

“Little of both to be honest. Depends on Mom’s mood.”

“Wait, what?” Jax says, even more concerned. The sound of Kano’s pained yell made them both look Sonya’s way, the woman having defeated Kano. She looked exhausted.

“You’re coming with me…” she pants, walking over to the downed man. Shang Tsung stops her in her tracks via a fireball in her path.

“Kano is not your prisoner.” He says, oddly calm.

“Neither is Jax, asshat!” Rei shouts.

“At least help Jax! He needs a medic!” Sonya demands.

Shang Tsung just laughs, Kitana and Jade, having recovered, helping Kano up. The group walks away. Rei looks angry.

“Get your pansy butts back here, ya cowards!!” She yells at them, “Don’t you ignore me!! I’m the daughter of-”

“There she is!”

Johnny, Raiden, and Liu Kang emerge from somewhere, Johnny looking relieved.

“Sonya! You all right?” He sees Jax on the ground, “Looks like you found him. Sup, Sarge?”

“He’s a ma- Hey, what are you doing?” Sonya sees Raiden walk by her and towards Jax and Rei. Rei waves, but looks annoyed when Raiden doesn’t even acknowledge her.

“What? No hey, hi, or fuck you? I see how you are, Raiden!” Rei huffs, Raiden ignoring her as he got some lightning in his palms. He puts it near Jax, the man starts to glow with a bright blue energy. Sonya wasn’t sure about this, but Johnny put a hand on her shoulder as if to say, ‘Hey, he’s cool, trust me.’ The process took a few moments, and once Raiden was finished, Jax was fully healed of his injuries. Jax looks at his arm, completely dumbfounded by what he just witnessed.

“That was amazing!” He praises with a thankful smile.

“He’s a God, what do you expect?” Johnny grins. Jax turns to Rei.

“Why couldn’t you have done that?”

“I’m a Darkness Deity, healing isn’t in the portfolio. I ain’t a Healer Class Asali either.”

“Not every God is capable of healing.” Raiden adds, Rei looking embarrassed. Liu Kang just pats her on the shoulder, Rei swatting his hand away.

“Thank you, Raiden.” Sonya thanks the Thunder God. Raiden shook his head.

“Gratitude is unnecessary.” Raiden began, “I have foreseen events, like memories of my future…”

 _“Very good thing they aren’t what me and Azriel saw.”_ Rei heard Corliss say, _“Now that was nightmare fuel.”_

“They lead me to believe that you all are connected to Earthrealm’s fate.” Raiden looks at Rei, the Asali blinking, “All but you it seems.”

“Again, visitor coming from a different realm to spectate. Of course I wouldn’t be in your visions.”

“I’m not worried. I bet you two could win this thing no problem.” Johnny slaps both deities on the arms.

“Unless directly challenged, I cannot participate.” Raiden tells him. He seemed to glare at Sonya when he said that, the woman looking away to avoid it.

“I came to watch a old geezer get snapped in half, I’m too lazy to do it myself.” Rei explained, glaring at Johnny. She was technically telling the truth, yet lying at the same time.

“Well then… what should we do besides standing around, looking pretty?” the actor asks.

“We let the tournament run it’s course.” Raiden says, looking sagely. Everyone seemed to agree with him.

“Alright then, we’re with you, Raiden.” Sonya assures.

“All the way.” Rei says, hugging Raiden’s arm with a sweet look. Raiden blushes faintly, but when he heard Liu Kang go “awww” he zaps the monk, his yelp very unmanly.


	4. Hell Freezes Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Timeline fuckery starts now. Along with some tidbits of happenings from Rei's home realm of Purgatory and an example of the Asalian language. Translations will be at the end.

Back at the island's arena, Shang Tsung, his bodyguards, and the monks have taken their places once again. Notably, Quan Chi now stands by the Grandmaster's throne for some undisclosed reason. The Kombatants present at the last fight are back again, waiting for the next match. Rei stands at Raiden's side alongside Liu Kang, the Asali choosing to instead braid a part of her hair out of boredom. The masked guard that was Kung Lao seems to catch Raiden's eye, causing him to gasp as he receives another vision; this one reveals Kung Lao running at Baraka. Raiden realises the true identity of the guard at once and leaves his place. Rei watches for a second before shrugging and resuming her braiding.

_“Pay attention, Rei.”_ Corliss speaks. Rei managed to give her the finger while she was still braiding, Corliss’ heavy sigh being heard.

"Kombatants! The next match will now begin!" Shang announced.

In a burst of hellfire, the one known as Scorpion teleports onto the arena floor. Johnny gasps in awe, and even Liu Kang looked impressed. Rei, however, looked on in disinterest.

_"Watch yourself around Scorpion, Rei. This hellspawn is no joke."_ Corliss warned, Rei scoffing in amusement.

"I can take care of myself." She mused back quietly as to not draw attention to herself, "He's no threat to me. I've tangled with hellspawns before. What makes Scorpion so different?"

_“Rei, your brother, the Seven Devils, and Lady Vendetta don’t count as hellspawns.”_

"Scorpion! Spector of the Netherrealm!" Shang Tsung introduced the Shirai Ryu, "Resurrected by the sorcerer Quan Chi! Who among you is worthy of this challenge?"

Scorpion looked around, as if searching for someone. "Where is the Lin Kuei Sub-Zero? He killed my family and clan. I will have his head!"

“Calm down, Edgelord.” Rei says without thinking. Which resulted in a fireball getting thrown her way, the girl barely dodging it. “HEY!!”

“Watch your tongue, lest I cut it out!” Scorpion threatened.

“Excuse me?” Rei looks mildly annoyed, “Is that a **challenge**?”

Shang Tsung immediately realized this would be a bad idea, remembering what Ti Fa Rin did to Outworld’s fighters all those years ago. So much rug burn, bright lights, and dark hellfires… it made him shiver in pain remembering it.

“There will be no challenging the Asali, Scorpion!” He orders. Scorpion was about to say something, but Quan Chi gave him a glare that made him stand down. While all that was going on, Raiden approaches the disguised Kung Lao, who didn’t even notice him until he spoke.

“I know it is you, Kung Lao…” Raiden spoke in a whisper so no one else heard him, “The Shaolin monks chose Liu Kang to represent your order in this tournament."

Kung Lao scoffs, not turning his head to face him. “I am Liu Kang’s equal!” He corrects, “I deserve to be here.”

“That remains to be seen.” Raiden shot that idea down. Kung Lao seemed to took offense to that, turning to him.

“Watch and see.” Raiden finds both the robes and mask thrown at him, Raiden looking very done with the monk as he steps forward.

“I accept the challenge!” Kung Lao declares.

“Kung Lao?” says a confused Liu Kang.

“Hi Lao!” Rei greets happily, the monk waving at her. Liu Kang looks at her.

“You two know each other?”

“Saved his ass from Tarkatans with my shoe when I first got here!”

“...okay then.”

Shang didn't look too happy at this turn of events as Kung Lao faced Scorpion.

"Never mind the Lin Kuei." Kung Lao assured, "Now, you face a Shaolin." He accentuated his point by running two fingers across his hat and assumed a fighting stance. Rei cheered for him, Liu Kang just looking at her and then at Raiden, the two men sharing a “WTF” look at the entire thing. Scorpion also had that look, but it wasn’t as noticeable due to his mask.

"You will regret your impulsiveness." the Spector threatened, going for first blood via his chain spear.

As the fight goes on, Raiden rejoins Rei and Liu Kang, rubbing his temples to try and ease his headache. Rei looks at him, trying not to chuckle. Azriel had perfect, yet accidental aim. Speaking of Azriel, Rei wondered what she was up too. She got her answer when she glanced to her right, seeing a small glimpse of Azriel as she snuck by, carrying a few paint cans and paint brushes. How no one else could clearly see the 10 ft tall Elder God, Rei would never know. Raiden seemed to have sensed her, shivering a bit and looking around in what looked to be slight fear at how *close* this powerful aura was. He felt like a sudden chill went down his spine. Rei taps his arm.

“You ok?” She asks, looking concerned.

“Yes… I am fine…” Raiden answers, seeming to calm back down once Azriel was far enough away, “For a second there, I thought I felt the presence of an Elder God…”

Rei tilts her head. “Why would an Elder God be here?” She says, not mentioning that her Elder God Mother was just nearby, “I can’t see them being here unless it was really dire.”

“...you do have a point.” Raiden seems calmer by that, “I don’t see them ever coming down to watch this tournament up close.”

“I don’t see them coming down at all if what you told me long ago was true.” Liu Kang spoke up, side stepping a stray fireball from Scorpion. Said fireball hits some strange Mongolian man, igniting him. The spectators scatter as the man is screaming in pain, the flames unable to be put out despite the guard’s actions. Eventually, everyone, including Scorpion and Kung Lao, watched as the man became nothing but ash and smoke.

“....who was he?” Rei asks Liu Kang.

“Not too sure, but he probably wasn’t important.” Liu Kang shrugs.

“Whoever he was, I have no sympathy” Raiden adds, the Asali and the Monk agreeing with him as they and the others resumed watching the fight between Scorpion and Kung Lao. Said fight didn’t last much longer as Scorpion landed a nasty roundhouse kick that knocked him out cold.

“Kung Lao!” Liu Kang says with worry, rushing over. Raiden walks over, Rei joining him as he starts to admonish the monk.

“Listen when your elders speak! You could not win this fight.” Raiden scolded him. Rei just nudges Kung Lao with her foot, which woke him up.

“Bruh, you alright?”

“I think… I got a concussion…”

“You’ll live.”

Rei and Liu Kang help Kung Lao up, Raiden leading them away to the spectators’ area. Scorpion just looks annoyed.

“He is not yet a warrior.” He remarks before turning to Shang Tsung.

“I have defeated the challenger, Shang Tsung. I demand Sub-Zero!" Scorpion orders.

It was at that moment Raiden got another vision; first of Scorpion holding Sub-Zero's removed head along with his spinal cord, then the head morphs into the visage of the wraith Noob Saibot. Rei notices, nudging his shoulder to snap him out of it. Raiden just looks a bit worried.

"You will demand nothing!" Shang Tsung shot back, "Nightwolf!"

The Native American male, Nightwolf, walks over to Scorpion and began to address him.

"Your anger is misplaced." Nightwolf spoke. Scorpion looked rather insulted.

"What do you know of my pa-" Scorpion was then cut off by Nightwolf.

"You are not the only one whose people have been victimized." Nightwolf assured, "But I have found a new purpose in serving the Spirits. I do not cling to the past."

"You no longer seek retribution? You dishonor your kind. I will honor the memory of my fallen." Scorpion charges towards Nightwolf, Nightwolf doing the same.

“What an edgelord.” Rei muses, regarding Scorpion. Liu Kang chuckles at that as he was tending to Kung Lao’s injuries with Raiden. Kung Lao looked a bit disoriented, but he was coming to quickly thanks to Raiden’s healing abilities.

It was a hellish fight, but Nightwolf was unable to overcome the wrath that was Scorpion. He was knocked out cold while Scorpion stood victorious.

"The spirits have forsaken you, Shaman." Scorpion spoke, turning to face Shang Tsung. As he did so, Rei and Liu Kang help Nightwolf to his feet and get him to safety.

"An impressive start!" Their attention was brought to the elderly sorcerer. Scorpion clenched his fist at said sorcerer, his hand bursting into flames.

"You waste my time, Sorcerer!" The specter spoke in fury, only for Quan Chi to hold up a hand.

"Restraint, Scorpion." he spoke calmly. Although not pleased about it, Scorpion obeyed and lowered his hand, the flames dissipating.

Shang Tsung looked somewhat amused. "You will fight Sub-Zero soon enough." He spoke before standing up and taking his leave, Quan Chi following him. As the ninja lowers his head and ponders about what has happened so far, Raiden attracts his attention.

"Scorpion, I understand your desire for revenge." He sympathized, "But Nightwolf is right. There are other ways in which you may find peace."

"Sub-Zero deserves death." Scorpion stated. Raiden simply shaked his head.

"Defeat Sub-zero if you must, but do not kill him." Raiden requested, remembering his vision.

_“Yo Rei, I need a favor.”_ Rei hears Corliss speak, the girl perking up, _“Raiden’s latest vision shows him how Sub-Zero gets turned into Noob Saibot, a wraith of the Netherrealm. I wanna see if we can change that. Once you’re able to get away from the group, I’ll fill you in more.”_ Rei just gave a faint nod in response.

Scorpion looked displeased. "I will have my revenge!"

"Spare Sub-Zero's life, and I will request that the Elder Gods return the Shirai Ryu to the realm of mortals." The Thunder God offered. This made Scorpion take a few moments to contemplate this new turn of events. It seemed too good to be true, but Raiden had no reason to lie. He eventually looks Raiden in the eyes and nods his consent. Raiden nodded back before walking off with Liu Kang, the still dazed Kung Lao, and Rei, the latter of the three deciding to linger back and give a very good, open palm smack to Raiden’s butt, earning a yelp of surprise and amused snorts from the two monks.

“Rei, what is the meaning of this?!” Raiden said, turning to her. Rei just smirks cutely, looking innocent.

“What? I didn’t do anything.” She lied, giggling… right before she does a ballerina twirl around Raiden and smacked his butt again, his yelp even louder and a blush appearing on his face.

“Oh wait, I did~” She giggles again, Raiden glaring at her in embarrassment and annoyance. Kung Lao just turns to Liu Kang as he rubs his still hurting head.

“I believe we have a new source of entertainment…” he says, Liu Kang nodding.

“Indeed we do.”  
  
~*~*~*~*~

_“Azriel, what are you doing?”_ Corliss asks as she watches Azriel dip her paintbrush into the bucket of bright pink paint. The Elder God had broken into a part of the temple no Kombatant was allowed to enter, and said temple was full of paintings. Most paintings were out Outworld Warriors and Shang Tsung himself.

"These paintings are criminally tacky! I can’t just sit by and let this tackiness ruin the temple’s atmosphere.” Azriel answers, now standing before a painting of Shang Tsung, “So I’m just gonna add a few touches of my own~”

_“They do look pretty bad. I’ve seen better from the guys that do the Ferrum Klash artwork for the mobile games when they’re drunk.”_ Corliss chuckles, _“What are you gonna do to them?”_

“Why, sunshine, rainbows, unicorns, pretty pink dresses, the works!” Azriel beams as she snapped her fingers, now in an Artist’s Uniform. Putting her hair into a ponytail, she starts to paint. Corliss laughs hard, a thud being heard.

“You alright, Lissy?”

_“Y-Yeah. Just fell out of my chair. Also, got some good news for you.”_

“Oh? Do tell.” Azriel wipes a splatter of paint off her cheek.

The sound of Corliss typing away is heard. _“The timeline changes are starting to take place at a slightly faster pace. That one timeline where I ensured Raiden couldn’t go Dark at all is now completely gone. Thank fuck too, that one was horrible.”_

Azriel smiles. Things were going according to plan. “That is wonderful news! Things are going right on track.”

_“Also, I got a call from the Ferrum Klash organizers earlier, they need you to update this year’s roster and brackets soon, there’s been more sign ups whenever you can.”_

“Oh joy. Who else signed up?”

_“The Rin Sisters and Tei Rin. I think the Rin Sisters are finally gonna settle their differences this time around and Tei Rin just wants to show them up.”_

“Oh, this is gonna be good.” Azriel grins, “Send me the holo-plates later. Right now, I need silence. I need to paint in peace.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Some time later that day it had began to rain. All the Kombatants were currently gathered in Shang Tsung's throne room, each discussing different topics. All but Rei, that is, as she was in the corner by herself.

"-couldn't help myself!"

_"That does not give you the permission to go around slapping his ass like that!"_ Corliss scolded, _"How would you like it if I did that to you?"_

"Ooh, I didn't know you were interested in me~" Rei grins at the annoyed groan she got from the other Purple Asali in return.

_"Just don't do that again. The fact that you got away with it twice is a miracle of its own, knowing Raiden."_ Corliss warned, _"I’m more surprised his first reaction wasn’t to just flat out electrocute you. For now, I need you to get ready to make a trip to the Netherrealm."_

"I will slap his glorious ass if I damn well ple- wait, WHAT?!" Rei gawked, "Why do I have to go to the Netherrealm!?"

_“Remember when I said I wanted to change Sub-Zero’s fate? Well, this is what I meant.”_ Corliss explains, _“I need you to go to the Netherrealm and get Sub-Zero’s soul once he’s killed by Scorpion before Quan Cheeto takes it.”_

“Corliss, you know I’m already weakened as is, the Netherrealm is gonna make me even weaker! Can’t you ask Mom to do it?”

_“She’s busy with another thing right now. Plus you know she won’t set foot into the Netherrealm after what happened last time.”_

“Ugh, fine. But you better make it worth my while!”

_“I will, don’t worry. I’ll see about getting you a Lazarite card of myself on Ferrum Klash Mobile. Right now, head outside. I got a portal active.”_

As Rei leaves, the door swings open, Scorpion walking in. Two other members of the Lin Kuei, Cyrax and Sektor, are the only two not to notice him yet.

"I understand there are benefits to the Grandmaster's plan, but his plan goes against Lin Kuei principles." Cyrax explained.

"We are Lin Kuei, Cyrax." Sektor spoke, "We will obey the Grandmaster's commands."

"It means giving up our free will… our souls." Cyrax explained, looking sad, "It will turn us into-"

"Scorpion." Sektor cut the yellow clad Lin Kuei off as said ninja approached them. Both he and Cyrax looked at him in disgust.

"Your inferior clan is dead. Soon you will join them." Cyrax warned. Scorpion didn't seem at all bothered.

"My clan may walk the Earth once more." He shot back. Cyrax simply pushed him in response, to which Shang Tsung immediately noticed.

"A challenge! Scorpion versus Cyrax and Sektor!" He announced, catching everyone's attention. Cyrax assumed his fighting stance.

"Your obsession with Sub-Zero ends here!" He declares as he got one of his bombs out. As the fight went on, Raiden was looking outside at the heavy rain, looking rather calm and serene. The two monks notice this and smile, knowing the Thunder God’s love of rainy weather.

“Lord Raiden must be day dreaming again.” mused Kung Lao, noticing that Raiden wasn’t even paying attention to the fight at this point, more entranced by the rain falling outside.

“Let him day dream. He needs a small break every once in a while.” Liu Kang chuckled, “I’m pretty sure he would rather be out there enjoying it than in here watching this fig- GAAAH!!”

Raiden snaps out of it, barely able to react as Liu Kang had caught one of Cyrax’s stray bombs, panicking before tossing it to Kung Lao. Kung Lao yelps and stutters his words, fumbling with it before throwing it at Johnny, cause Sonya and Jax to run away from him in a panic.

“DON’T THROW IT AT ME, YOU JERKS!!” He yells, throwing it back towards the two fighting. It misses Raiden’s head by mere inches but did knock his hat off, and lands near Scorpion. Scorpion kicks it at Cyrax through a split second decision, the bomb exploding in Cyrax’s face, knocking him out. Raiden looks very annoyed as he picks his hat up and puts it back on, glaring at the actor, who just gave him a nervous smile.

Scorpion stands over the defeated Cyrax, Sektor shaking his head from the sidelines at such a humiliating defeat his fellow Lin Kuei had. "I will have my revenge, but I will not kill Sub-Zero." Scorpion spoke, much to the approval of Raiden, who nodded. But, a new voice then attracts everyone's attention.

"Will not? Or cannot?"

All heads turn to the Lin Kuei of the hour, Sub-Zero, as he walks in.

"You!" Scorpion and Sub-Zero walk up to one another, a stare down ensuing.

"The Shirai Ryu are dead. You will suffer as they did." Scorpion threatened.

"To hell with your clan!" Sub-Zero retorts. Scorpion's eyes narrow.

"No, to Hell with YOU!" Scorpion then grabbed Sub-Zero and they both disappear in a flash of hell fire. They reappear in a place filled with fire, burning bodies, and malicious architecture. Hell hounds and various demons were about, and on stakes and pikes were burning bodies of the damned.

"The Netherrealm…" Sub-Zero trailed off as he took in his surroundings.

"This is the place where I was reborn." Scorpion explained, "This is where you will pay!"

Sub-Zero barely dodges Scorpion’s chain spear, retaliating with an ice ball. Nearby was Rei, who was burning up, fanning herself the best she could. She felt extremely sluggish here, none of her darkness related powers working here.

“Fucking hell, this is worse than when I had to fight Bureizu in the Temple of Flames….” she complains, “I’d rather fight all 4 Rin Sisters at once than be here….”

_“Suck it up, you won’t be here forever.”_ Corliss tells her, _“Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to see where Azriel got K’dassey from?”_

“Not like this! I figured she would show me from one of your monitors!!”

_“You thought wrong.”_

Rei groans loudly, still fanning herself. Any longer here and she was gonna strip out of her clothes. Curse her love of black and purple clothing! She perks up as she sees the Scorpion and Sub-Zero fight up ahead, and quietly sneaks her way over. Once she was close enough, she watches quietly.

“So, what do I gotta do?”

_“Wait for my signal.”_

The Asali nods, watching as Scorpion punches Sub-Zero in the face hard enough to knock him to the ground. He follows it up by stomping on his chest, Sub-Zero crying out in pain.

"I have avenged my family and clan." Scorpion declared. Suddenly, Quan Chi teleports into the realm, Rei blinking in surprise.

_"Rei, that's Quan Chi."_ Corliss explained, _"He's the one that made Scorpion who he is right now. He’s the guy who was gonna turn Sub-Zero into Noob Saibot, but as you know, I have other plans._

"This is your retribution?" The sorcerer asked, "Scorpion, kill him."

The Shirai Ryu looked very hesitant. "I… I will not. He has been beaten."

"Have you forgotten?" Quan Chi asked as he magically created a visage of the homeland of the Shirai Ryu.

"What is this?" Scorpion asked in confusion.

The entire village is engulfed in flames. Arrows rain from above, cutting down multiple Shirai Ryu clansmen.

"No…."

Another is decapitated by a Lin Kuei assassin. Yet more are run through by katanas from horseback riders and by arrows from archer marksmen. Among the horseback riders is Sub-Zero.

"You clan. Your family." Quan Chi spoke as he created another vision. It shows Scorpion's wife and infant son huddled in a corner of their home. The door opens to reveal Sub-Zero, katana in hand. He unsheathes it, and unmoved by the woman's tears, brings the blade down. All that was seen then is blood splattering the walls, along with petals of a rose worn by the woman's hair. The implications of what was done are all too obvious.

**"NO!"** Scorpion shouts as the vision fades. Sub-Zero, badly wounded as he is, is on his feet and holding up a hand in mercy.

"That is not me!" He tried to correct, but as Scorpion rips his mask off his head, presenting a skull entrapped in flames, he can only scream at what was to come next. Rei was still in shock from what the sorcerer had shown the specter when Corliss shouted:

_"Rei! Convert Sub-Zero NOW!"_

~*~*~*~*~

"Has anyone seen Rei?"

Liu Kang and Kung Lao's attention was brought to Raiden as he looked around the room, none of them acknowledging the fight between an Outworlder in maroon and an Earthrealmer wearing a bandana as a blindfold. "I haven't. Maybe she went somewhere to be alone?" Liu Kang answered the Thunder God, "Why do you ask?"

"I was hoping to ask her reasons for why she smacked me like that earlier." Raiden explained. Johnny just happened to overhear this comment and grinned.

"What? Not used to a pretty lady smacking your butt like that?" He joked, "Or have you never been smacked there before?" Johnny's grin quickly faded at Raiden's glare, the actor choosing to hide behind an annoyed Liu Kang and a much amused Kung Lao. The sound of flames brought everyone's attention to the center of the room. Scorpion had reappeared. Shang Tsung smiles in anticipation. Wordlessly, Scorpion hold up a scorched skull with the spinal cord attached. There was nothing but silence until Johnny Cage spoke.

"Ouch."

With his head hung in either sorrow or despair, Scorpion lets the skull shatter on the ground. He let out a loud scream, and burst into flames before disappearing. As the kombatants leave, Raiden looks over the skull alongside Cyrax.

"Despite my efforts, my vision has come to pass." He spoke, "An unfortunate end…"

“Or is it?” Raiden and Cyrax turned to see a solemn Rei walking up to them, but she didn’t look alone. Fluttering next to her was a tiny ball of pale blue light with fairy wings. Rei gently takes it into her hand as she saw its wings move slower. Raiden looked curious at the sight of such a creature. Rei didn’t have one with her before...

"Cheer up, little one." Rei assured, "It was unfortunate, but somethings can't be stopped."

The small fairy mumbled something too quiet for Raiden and Cyrax to hear, but Rei seemed to hear it as she sets it on her shoulder. She looked rather upset as how sad it looked. She herself then looked at the skull and frowned.

"...he died innocent, yet guilty through a lie." She spoke solemnly, "What must be done to prevent more senseless deaths?!" She spun around to face Shang Tsung.

“Jirs zi'auhs irsuhs nil nasus sui'asrr a suhr! Su zuhss rhuhr ilai i'asuhu, thirs suhhu az ru suhs ilais zi'assuhasr ilui'asr i'apha!!” She says in her native language in anger. To no one's surprise, no one seemed to understand what Rei was saying, looking at her in total confusion. Shang, however, only grinned in response, Rei scoffing in disgust, looking really angry as she stomps back over to the Earthrealmers, the fairy still on her shoulder.

"Scorpion will pay for this!" Cyrax threatened, having ignored Rei's outburst. Raiden shook his head.

"Sub-Zero's fate was his own doing."

Cyrax looked furious. "His own doing?!"

"The Lin Kuei have a history of making ruinous choices." Raiden responded, only earning a glare from the Lin Kuei before he stormed off. What Raiden said next, however, stopped Cyrax in his tracks.

"Such as the Cyber Initiative." Cyrax turned back around to face him.

"I am among those speaking out against the Grandmaster's plan. Surgically transform the Lin Kuei into glorified robots? It kills our intuition, our instincts." He explained.

"Did you speak out against the Lin Kuei's participation in this tournament?" asked Raiden.

"We were invited by Shang Tsung."

"He pays you to kill Earthrealm warriors. Betraying your own realm? I expect better, even from an assassin."

"My loyalty is to the Grandmaster."

Cyrax tries to walk off again, but Raiden stopped him once more.

"Victory for Shang Tsung means the end of Earthrealm. And the Lin Kuei."

The yellow clad assassin paused for a moment, but proceeds to walk off. Baraka, who has watched the entire exchange, snarls ominously and also leaves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Jirs zi'auhs irsuhs nil nasus sui'asrr a suhr! Su zuhss rhuhr ilai i'asuhu, thirs suhhu az ru suhs ilais zi'assuhasr ilui'asr i'apha!!" = "Just wait until my mother learns of this! She will skin you alive, just like how she did your warriors years ago!!"


	5. Īe, Kekkōdesu, Mr. Roboto

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think I'm clever and creative with chapter titles, but in reality, they usually have little to do with that's actually going on or loosely connects to the main focal point. Either way, I apologize for a short chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it nonetheless.

“I still don’t get why Black Dragon members were invited here.”

“Yeah, they suck at fighting.”

Jax chuckles at Rei’s statement as they watched the current fight. It was nighttime now, but it was still raining rather heavily. Currently fighting was a Black Dragon member with a strange jacket on and had a tendency to turn himself into a human slingshot fighting a woman in blue that usually stood by Shang Tsung’s throne. The woman was winning by a long shot, her fans tearing into the guy. The fairy was sitting on Rei’s shoulder, a part of her purple tunic looking slightly frozen from sitting there. It hadn’t spoke a word.

Raiden had been watching it for a while, curious as to what it exactly was, and why did Rei have it now? The fairy notices him staring, turning to look at him. One of its wings twitched.

“...your little ball of light is staring at me.” Raiden spoke up, Rei looking at him.

“That little ball of light is called a Spectrite.” She corrects him, taking the little fairy into her hands, “It’s what a soul becomes during the conversion process in my realm.”

“The what now?” Jax asks, having overheard. Rei giggles.

“Well, I suck at explaining things, but my mother could explain it better than me. She’s on this island, but she’s really unpredictable. My people say she makes Chaosrealmers look like Seidans in comparison.”

“How do you even know she’s here?” Raiden asks.

“She’s fucking 10 ft tall, she’s not hard to miss unless you’re blind or easily distracted. Plus she’s really powerful when it comes to magic so it’s easy to sense her presence” Rei says in a flat tone. Raiden and Jax both look at her weirdly. She just shrugs, the Spectrite fluttering in the air now. Rei notices that there’s ice on her shoulder, cracking it and dusting the ice shards away before turning to Raiden.

“I mean… if you want to meet her, we can go look for her. Like I said, she’s not hard to miss. She could probably even help us out too if we ask nicely.” She suggests, “After all, the more, the merrier, right?”

Raiden considers it for a moment, but shook his head. “Maybe later if I feel we need the extra assistance.”  

“Suit yourself, big guy.” the Asali says, the Spectrite now resting on her head.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Back at the Pit, the sky shined with the light of a thousand stars, oddly clear despite it raining where the others were. Probably due to how Shang Tsung’s island worked. Cyrax was walking along it, currently pondering on what Raiden had said earlier. A growl suddenly catches his attention, turning around to see Baraka alongside a rather tall woman with four arms: Sheeva.

"What are you doing?" asked Cyrax, "I'm not here to fight you. I'm assigned to kill Johnny Cage."

"Shang Tsung no longer has need of you." The woman answered, holding up two of her arms to prevent Baraka from intervening.

"What do you mean?" The Lin Kuei asked once more. The woman took up a fighting stance.

"He is terminating your agreement. And you!"

A fight then ensues. Baraka simply sat back and watched, but then noticed something from the corner of his eye. On the other bridge far from there, he spots a very tall woman tossing what looked to be empty buckets down into the Pit. The Tarkatan thought in confusion, scratching his head Who was this woman? She didn’t look like she was of Earthrealm or Outworld. He tries to get a closer look… and was met with a paint bucket to the face after she sees him staring.

“Not polite to stare, fucknut!!” Azriel yells from the bridge before disappearing in a puff of bright red sparkles and smoke via a pirouette. Baraka rubs his face, feeling that a few of his teeth were missing from the paint bucket, growling a bit. A loud thud was heard, Baraka turning back to see Sheeva on the ground unconscious, Cyrax standing over her victoriously.

"I need to have a talk with your master." Cyrax demanded as he looked Baraka in the eye. The Tarkatan roared and charged forward, blades unsheathed. Might as well take out his anger from the paint bucket meeting his face on this Earthrealmer.

"This fight is not over!" He corrected.

Cyrax simply returned to his stance. "You mean to finish me? You couldn't even stop the actor!" He taunts. Baraka looked very insulted, growling loudly.

This Earthrealmer was gonna suffer.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was an intermission at the temple. The Earthrealmers were in their own little group, chatting among themselves. Rei was with the Spectrite, watching it fly around Raiden, Raiden not really sure how to react, just watching.

“Why is it doing this?” Raiden asks her.

“Oh, they tend to do that when they sense strong energies and auras.” Rei says, “Of course he senses your godly aura.”

“It is a he?”

“Yeah. Say hello.”

The Spectrite was still silent, but it did circle Raiden again before sitting on Rei’s shoulder. She chuckles.

“He’s shy.” She gently pats it, the fairy’s wings twitching. Raiden just let out a small chuckle, gently touching it himself. Immediately he notices how cold it was to the touch, making a surprised sound.

“It is cold to the touch. Is that normal?” he asks.

“Yeah, that’s normal. If they had any powers while they were alive, it transfers over.” Rei nods, “This little guy could control ice.”

“Interesting…” Raiden looked more curious, but says nothing else.

The doors to the arena swing open, and in walks Cyrax. He looked a little banged up and bits and pieces of his clothes were slashed open. Raiden regards him with a silent nod as he passes by, Rei just tilting her head.The Spectrite’s wings twitch again, and it mumbled something Raiden or Rei couldn’t hear. The yellow clad Lin Kuei went up to Sektor and Shang Tsung.

"Sektor, we need to talk." Cyrax told the red clad Lin Kuei, "Our host tried to have me killed."

"You were speaking with the Thunder God." Shang Tsung defended, "You indiscretion has jeopardized my whole plan."

"Cyrax is Lin Kuei." Sektor jumped in, "He will complete his task." Shang Tsung gave in a rather incredulous look, returning to his throne.

"We shall see… The next match will be Cyrax versus Johnny Cage." Shang Tsung announced, said actor's attention drawn away from an annoyed Sonya, who looked very thankful for the announcement.

"What, me? Alright then." Johnny said as he made his way onto the arena. "Not everyone gets to rumble with a celebrity. Ready for your beat down, Sunshine? Here it comes!"

The Spectrite suddenly flies off Rei’s shoulder and over to Cyrax, fluttering near him. Cyrax looked confused, feeling a cold chill around it.

“H-Hey!! Get back here!!” Rei shouts at it, but it doesn’t listen. It instead flapped its wings very hard and fast, looking eager to join the fight. Johnny used the opportunity to attack, sucker punching Cyrax.

“Oh fucking hell…” Rei focuses, a black blob that used to be her shadow swiftly moving on the ground in a zigzag motion. It reappears behind Cyrax as he was punching Johnny, now as a watery, all black clone of Rei. The clone grabs the Spectrite and sinks back into the floor with it. The blob zig zags back and reappears next to the Asali, holding the startled fairy. Rei takes it.

“Bad! You do not go doing that!” She scolds it, the clone turning back into her shadow again, “You could have gotten crushed!!”

“How did you… do that?” a disturbed Sonya asks, Rei looks at her with a grin.

“I’m a Goddess of Darkness, shadows count as darkness.” She answers, putting the annoyed Spectrite on her shoulder again. It flash freezes her shoulder in retaliation, but she ignored it. Raiden however, gently presses down on the ice, shattering it and dusting it off her. The Spectrite looks angry, glowing brighter than usual and rams itself into Raiden… flash freezing him. Rei sees this and starts laughing hard while Liu Kang and Kung Lao both look worried, Liu Kang holding a small flame near him to thaw him out. By the time Raiden was partially thawed out and shivering due to the cold, Cyrax had Johnny on the floor, looking disappointed while the actor groaned in pain.

"That should shut you up." boasted Cyrax as he stepped over and lifted Johnny up by his neck, preparing to land a final blow.

"Finish him!" the sorcerer demanded, watching in anticipation. Cyrax looked over to him, then towards Raiden, who shakes his head despite his shivering. His decision was soon made.

"I won't kill him!" Cyrax let Johnny down and walks off. Shang Tsung glowers in fury, but Raiden nodded in approval. While Sektor watched Cyrax leave with disdain on his face, a few of Shang's masked guards soon came in, one of them going up to the sorcerer and whispering something into his ear.

"WHAT?!" Shang Tsung stood up, his fury now known, "Who would dare defile the paintings of me? I will have their head!" He then stormed out of the arena, everything now silent. Everyone looked very confused, especially Raiden and Rei.

“W-What is going o-on?” Raiden stutters, now completely thawed out but still very cold due to his now ice cold soaked clothes, “And s-someone help Johnny Cage…”

“On it.” Jax goes over and picks Johnny up via lumberjack style, much to Johnny’s protests, bringing him back to their side. Sonya chuckles at the sight, going to check on him.

“You alright, Raiden?” Rei asks, the Spectrite chuckling at what it had done. Raiden shook his head.

“My clothes are soaking wet with ice cold water…”

“How’s that any different from being in the rain?”

“The rain isn’t this cold. I can't just leave for the Sky Temple right now to change, we're at a crucial point in the Tournament." Raiden explains.

Rei looks deep in thought before grinning.

“I know someone who can help with that!”

~*~*~*~*~

"You were commanded to kill Johnny Cage. You disobeyed."

"I eliminated him from the tournament. He didn't need to die."

Deep in the jungle away from the arena, Cyrax and Sektor were alone, the red Lin Kuei looking rather angry at the yellow one's actions from earlier. "You have broken your oath." Sektor spoke.

"I used my judgement!" retorted Cyrax.

"The Cyber Initiative will eliminate insubordination." spoke Sektor.

"We're not machines, Sektor." Cyrax began to explain, "I chose to serve the Lin Kuei. But, I will not surrender my free will!" With that, he sucker punched Sektor, starting another brawl. The fight between the two technologically advanced assassins is brutal and deadly, but in the end, Cyrax was able to defeat Sektor.

"Tell the Grandmaster that I am finished." Cyrax spoke calmly. Sektor looked up at him in anger.

"No one leaves the Lin Kuei-"

**WHAM!**

Cyrax promptly responded to Sektor via boot to the face before walking off, leaving his now former comrade unconscious.

~*~*~*~*~

_“Azriel, heads up. Rei’s on her way with some friends.”_

Azriel perks up from her spot on the beach, sipping her martini. She was sitting next to the 20 ft hole she had dug, the shovel embedded in the ground nearby. She chugs the rest of it and tosses the glass behind her, the sound of it breaking was heard, followed by a guard’s cry of pain as glass cut them.

“Is Raiden with them?” She asks, grabbing the shovel and hopping back into the hole.

 _“Yup. He’s a little upset though. Wet clothes after being thawed out is never fun.”_ Corliss answers, _“What are you doing?”_

“You’ll see.” Azriel says, digging a bit more, tossing dirt and sand out of the hole. She was going to have a little fun with the Earthrealmers, “Just let Rei know I’m still in the hole.”

_“On it.”_

Azriel peeks a bit over the edge of the hole, seeing Rei in the distance with the Earthrealmers. She giggles darkly, sinking back into the hole. This was gonna be good.

“Are you sure she’s here…?” Liu Kang asks, looking around. Rei nods.

“Positive. This was where I last saw her. She was digging a pitfall to see if any unsuspecting people would fall in.” She answers. Raiden was still shivering behind her, feeling that presence again and looking very nervous. When they saw dirt and sand being tossed out of the hole, they stopped. All but Rei, that is, for she went up to the edge. Raiden looked very, very nervous, bits of static coming off him as a result.

“Mom, are you still digging this?” Rei asks.

“Why yes, I am!” Azriel beams happily, “I got bored, so I’m making it a bit deeper~”

“Well, can you stop for a second? My friends wish to meet you.” Rei asks, Azriel grinning. Azriel tosses the shovel out of the hole, Johnny shouting in fear as the shovel misses him by mere inches. Azriel pirouettes again, vanishing in a puff of reddish black smoke. Rei stands back as the earth starts to rumble, looking confused. The others were confused as well, but Raiden?

Pure terror.

An explosion of confetti and sparkles comes from the hole, Azriel spinning out of it and striking a pose.

“Hello, my darlings!!” She says with a grin and bowing, “Elder God Azriel, at your service~”

**THUD.**

“Raiden!!” Liu Kang and Kung Lao shout, rushing to the fallen Thunder God’s aid. Raiden had fainted out of fear and shock, unconscious on the ground. Rei rushes over as well, ignoring Azriel’s and Corliss’ laughter, gently tapping Raiden’s face to try and wake him up.

“Mom!! You nearly gave him a heart attack!!” Rei yells at the laughing Elder God.

“That’s your mother?!” Kung Lao asks, stunned.

“I just meant to scare him! I didn’t expect him to faint!” Azriel giggles, floating over and picking Raiden up bridal style, the Thunder God still out cold. Liu Kang picks up Raiden’s hat, twirling it a bit before deciding to wear it himself, chuckling.

“Lao, check it out. I’m a fire god!” Liu Kang says, making his hands ignite as he struck a pose. Kung Lao laughs at that, everyone else finding it amusing as well. Liu Kang looks proud of himself.

Hopefully Raiden doesn’t smite when when he wakes up.


	6. Made of Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Admit it. Once you saw the chapter title, THAT song popped into your head. I was listening to it the entire time while writing this and it did fit the theme.

“...gonna be ok?”

“I hope so, it’s been 30 minutes already… the final matches will be starting soon.”

Raiden groans as he finally regains consciousness, shielding his eyes from the sudden light in his eyes. Liu Kang and Kung Lao were at his sides, Liu Kang swiftly taking the Thunder God’s hat off his head as he sees Raiden coming too. The others notice this and join them.

“Raiden, are you ok?” Sonya asks, “You took a pretty bad fall…”

“Oh my… I had a horrible nightmare…” Raiden slowly sits up, rubbing his head, “I dreamt that an Elder God was on this island. It was very terrifying.” He goes silent once he saw everyone’s, including Rei’s, rather worried reactions. He blinks.

“What? Is there something wrong?”

“Um…. Raiden… that was no dream.” Sonya points behind him. Raiden slowly turns around and was met face to face with Azriel, who just kissed the tip of his nose with an amused look.

“Greetings, Raiden~”

Raiden’s scream of horror was heard throughout the island. Birds flew out of trees once again, all the guards patrolling around looked very confused, and Shang Tsung perks up on his throne, looking just as confused as his guards.

“Was that the Thunder God’s scream?” Jade asks.

“I think so.” Kitana adds.

Back at the beach, Raiden was fumbling with his words, trying to not look like a total idiot before Azriel. Azriel just calmly sips her fresh martini watching it happen. Once he finally was in a proper bowing position, he looks so ashamed.

“F-Forgive me, great one!!” He was fumbling apologies and other things. After a minute, Azriel hands Rei her drink before gently picking Raiden up by the scruff of his shirt collar like he was a kitten.

“...sweet myself, what did Izanagi and them do to you?” she says, Raiden stunned silent and suddenly having a distant expression on his face, as if his soul was just sucked out of him, “They ruined a perfectly good Thunder God! I mean look at you! You’re riddled with anxiety.”

“Mom, put him down!” Rei says, “You’re scaring him more! He’s already fainted once because of you!”

“You’re seeing this, right?” Kung Lao looks at Liu Kang, confused, “Aren’t the Elder Gods supposed to be, y’know… not like this?”

“Oh, I’m sort of a black sheep~” Azriel puts the confused and shell shocked Raiden down, looking sweet as can be, “And I don’t associate myself with them fuckheads that ruined poor Raiden here. That’s a story for another day. Anyways, you mentioned that your friends needed help, sweetie?” She looks at Rei.

“Uh… y-yeah… Was wondering if you could dry Raiden’s clothes… he was frozen not too long ago and needs dry ones.” Rei answers. Johnny and Jax were trying to get Raiden to snap out of it, Johnny by gently smacking Raiden’s face and Jax gently pushing on him, but had no luck. Liu Kang slowly puts the hat on Raiden before slowly backing away. Azriel chuckles.

“Why didn’t you say so?” She beams happily, rubbing her hands together, creating a magical current that resembled electricity, before placing both on Raiden. It both dried his clothes and jolted Raiden back into reality, but he still looked very nervous and fearful.

“All better!” Azriel says, swiping her drink back from Rei and sipping it again, “Anything else?”

“Is he gonna be ok?” Sonya asks, pointing to Raiden.

“I hope so. He’s gotta look good for when you all return to the tournament?” Azriel grins, “Aren’t the final matches up soon?”

“Shit! We gotta get back!” Sonya says, “Guys, let’s go!”

Raiden regains most of his composure and nods.” Y-Yes, let’s go.” he says, still nervous. Azriel just chuckles as they leave.  
  
“Have fun, little ones!!” She says to the group, “Let me know how it goes!”

~*~*~*~*~

By the time the group returns to Shang Tsung’s temple, Raiden had finally calmed down enough to look serious again, but his allies knew he was still unnerved via the sight of his hands faintly twitching. Rei looked a bit guilty, not standing near him. This time, she was standing with Sonya and Jax. Her Spectrite was fluttering above her, the tiny fairy quiet as usual. Shang Tsung returns from something he left to do not long before the group got here, taking his seat on the throne.

 _"Rei, heads up. This next guy is also pretty important.”_ Corliss spoke, Rei nodding faintly.

The doors to the throne room opened once again to reveal two masked guards walking in, escorting a new warrior, covered in a mask of cloth and red clothing. Immediately, Rei's attention was gotten, the girl just staring. She could sense so many souls within this mysterious warrior.

 _“Oh yeah. You sense it don’t you?”_ Corliss chuckles, _“Meet-”_

"Kombatants! I present this latest creation of Shao Kahn." Shang Tsung announced, "He is many warriors, their souls fused into one being. Behold… Ermac!"

"That short for Error Macro?" Rei said with a devious look, Shang Tsung glaring at her. Ermac didn't seem bothered and assumed a fighting kata. He glowed with green energy, making a magic crackling light before him in the air around him into ripples. Johnny was once again impressed while Kano snickered under his breath. The Spectrite lands on Rei’s shoulder, seemingly a bit unnerved.

"Be wary, Liu Kang. He is unlike anything you have fought before." Raiden warned Liu Kang, Liu Kang looking at him with a nod and stepping up to the front.

"Liu Kang! You are the sole Earthrealm warrior to progress to this final stage of the tournament!" Shang announced once more, Rei mocking him much to Kung Lao and Johnny's amusement. Liu Kang assumed his fighting stance.

"I am ready." He spoke as Ermac assumed his.

"We are many. You are one. We will destroy you." Ermac calmly warned as he and Liu Kang proceeded to fight. Everything seemed to be going well, a good clean fight between a construct of souls and a fire wielding monk. Rei eventually rejoins Raiden, but stays silent.

“....why did you not tell me?” he asks, quieter than usual.

“Tell you what?” Rei asks, looking confused.

“That your mother is an Elder God.” was Raiden’s reply. Rei just has a guilty look again.

“Well… partly due to how you reacted when you first sensed her during the fights with Scorpion and wanting to avoid you reacted the way you did earlier. Plus she’s kind of embarrassing.” she shrugs, “You saw how she is. She’s like that all the time back home.”

“I would not have reacted in such a way if you had just told me. I feel like a fool for fainting before her.” the Thunder God spoke in a semi-harsh tone, Rei frowning.

“Raiden, you would have reacted that way regardless. She’s really good at catching people off guard.”

Raiden ignores her, Rei huffing and turning to watch the fight. The Spectrite learned in close to her ear, whispering something to her. She just nods.

“Yeah, with a capital “D”.” She says to the fairy, the fairy snickering.

Ermac's telekinetic powers and control over magic would be an even match for several Kombatants, but Liu Kang was no ordinary warrior. After an intense battle, his fighting skill overcomes the mystical warrior. Liu Kang stood proudly over the unconscious Ermac, unaware that Rei was about to strike.

"Earthrealm will not fall into your master's hands." He told Shang Tsung.

“Yeah, you can tell Shao Kahn to go fu-” Rei was about to finish her sentence before she yelps, dodging a fire ball launched at her by the sorcerer.

"YOU! I had enough of you!" Shang Tsung stood up, a few masked guards rushing in, "First, you come UNINVITED to MY tournament, proceeded to mock me to my face about Outworld's loss to your realm centuries ago, and I am VERY sure it was you who defaced my paintings!! Kill that Asali!"

"Oh shit! Later, fuckers!" Rei focused her energy and created a cloud of darkness, pushing away the masked guards so she could dash out the door, the Spectrite being able to keep up with her in the air. But, she popped back a moment later.

"Bye, Raiden~" She teased while blowing the Thunder God a kiss before dashing off, the guards chasing her. Raiden simply blinked in utter confusion, unaware of the faint blush that adorned his cheeks from the gesture of affection. There was complete silence before everyone starts to leave. Johnny went up to Raiden and smacked his arm.

"Dude, she's so into you!" He said with a grin, unaware of the glares he was getting from Liu Kang and Kung Lao. "You should ask her out. I mean, you're a God, she's a Goddess. You two would really click."

Raiden didn't respond, still trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

While that happened, Kitana walked up to Shang Tsung, who was seething in rage at Ermac's loss and the fact that he should have had Rei killed sooner.

"He is a greater threat than anticipated." She spoke, "I will insure he does not reach the final challenge."

"I will ensure the Asali's death." added Jade as she joined them, "She will not get away with this."

Shang Tsung nodded his approval, Kitana and Jade departing after their respective targets.

~*~*~*~*~

"Where did she go?!"

"I don't know, she just rounded this corner and vanished!"

"That's impossible!"

The group masked guards were currently looking for Rei in the corridor in another part of the temple. Unbeknownst to them, Rei was up on the ceiling, grinning deviously. The Spectrite was floating near her.

“How are you able to pull off such a feat of strength in heels?” asked the Spectrite.

“I’m stronger than I look, Bi-Han.” Rei says quietly, watching the guards below and waiting for her time to strike.

The Spectrite, now revealed to be the former Sub-Zero, just watches as well, glowing brighter than usual. “Might I assist you for saving me?”   
  
“Be my guest!” Rei grins.

Bi-Han flies down, ramming himself into one of the guards, flash freezing him. The other two notice and go to try and crush him, but due to his small size, was able to evade them, flash freezing them as well when he got the chance. Rei drops down from the ceiling, and proceeds to split kick the two closest to each other and super kick the third one, shattering all three to pieces.

“Yeah!” Rei looks proud of herself, “We make a good team, Bi-Han!”

“It is very comforting knowing my powers still work in my current state.” Bi-Han sits on her shoulder again, “But should we return to the others?”

“Might as well.” Rei says, starting to walk that way. But, she was cut off by Jade as she rounds the corner, staff raised threateningly.

"By the orders of Shang Tsung, you are to die here and now, Asali." She threatened, taking on a fighting stance. Rei simply scoffed.

"Oh my, I'm so scared." She spoke in a deadpan tone, "Look, if you think you're gonna kill me, you best get your head checked. Better yet…"

She kicks off one of her heels at Jade, the shoe being deflected by Jade before Rei rushes her down.

“I’ll check it for you!!”

~*~*~*~*~

Farther away from the arena and in the forest, Liu Kang is practicing a kata with Raiden watching. Well, partly watching and partly thinking about what has been happening lately with Rei around. Was she really interested in him like Johnny Cage had said? Or was she simply leading him on? Either way, he wasn't going to let his guard down around her. Especially considering her mother, an Elder God, was also on the island, and he feared what Azriel would do to him if he did anything out of line.

"…remember Bo' Rai Cho's teachings." He spoke, hoping to distract himself, "For my vision to be realised, you must not let emotion overpower you."

Liu Kang stopped his kata to look at his mentor. "Your visions. What causes them?" He inquired.

"My future self sent them to me." answered Raiden, "Perhaps to ensure some outcome."

"Or to prevent one." The Shaolin added. Raiden suddenly gasped again, another vision appearing in his mind, this one being of future Raiden.

_"He must win!"_

The vision disappeared after that.

"'He must win.' Those are my last words before I die. I believe it is you who must win." He explained, taking off his amulet.

"This amulet was forged by the Elder Gods. It cracked here in the present after my first vision. If we choose wisely, the future will be secured and the cracks healed."

"I trust you will make the right decisions." Liu Kang says in assuring tone, “And maybe see if Azriel could help you with your visions. Maybe she can tell you more, and maybe why your amulet is cracking like that. She seems nice and reasonable.”

“I-I would rather not…” Raiden shot that idea down, “I do not wish to burden an Elder God with such a simple problem…”

Liu Kang was about to say something, but decides against it once he saw how nervous Raiden looked still at the mere mention of Azriel’s name. So he just nods.

“If you say so.”

Raiden nods. “Now… if you excuse me…” With that, Raiden teleports away, leaving Liu Kang on his own. The monk just chuckles.

“I’m going to hell for thinking his nervousness is funny…” He joked to himself before starting some katas. Before he got too deep into them, he saw Kitana walking towards him. She attacked him immediately, but he is able to block all of her attacks and kicks her away. Getting angry, Kitana tries to attack again, only to fail and get kicked away again. She went for a third try, but Liu Kang grabbed both her arms before she could connect one, the Shaolin looking rather intrigued by her efforts.

"You're good!" He praised with a smile, "Show me more."

The Edenian simply pushed him back. "Do not underestimate me, Shaolin." She threatened.

And thus, another fight had begun. But, even with ten thousand years of experience behind her, Kitana still couldn't beat Liu Kang, and was essentially curb stomped, soon down on the floor at Liu Kang's feet.

"I am impressed." He praised once more, watching as Kitana got on her knees, head lowered.

"Do it." She demanded.

"Do what?"

"Kill me."

Liu Kang knelt down at her level next to her, rather confused at why she would want him to kill her. She was a great fighter, she didn’t deserve to die because she couldn’t be him in Kombat....

"Why would I do that?" He asked.

"I came to kill you." The assassin answered, "I have failed my father. My emperor."

"Shao Kahn is your father?!" Liu Kang gasped in shock.

"I have disgraced him. You must kill me." Kitana all but begged.

"I will not." She looked surprised at his refusal, looking up at him in confusion. Liu Kang smiles.

"This encounter never took place. You have disgraced no one." He assured as he stood up and began to walk away, but turned around one last time.

"I hope we meet again. Under… different circumstances." He added before walking off, leaving Kitana to ponder what took place.

Nearby in another part of the temple...

**WHAM!!**

“Stay down, ya cheeky tart!” Rei declares at Jade, having pinned her under a pillar. The entire area around them was completely demolished, and while Rei came out relatively fine, Jade was KO’d. For some reason there was bright green paint also splattered about, along with a lone paint can that formerly contained it all. One would logically assume Azriel had forgotten a paint bucket.

Bi-Han was perched on a broken pillar that he had froze earlier, wings twitching. “You didn’t have to be so violent with a can of paint.”

“In my realm, we have two mottos: More Rubble, Less Trouble and There’s No Kill Like Overkill.” Rei explains, adjusting what’s left of her purple tunic to cover the areas of her black outfit that got torn, “Ugh… I knew I should have packed a change of clothes… Corliss!!”

 _“No.”_ was Corliss’ immediate answer.

“Fuck you too.” Rei huffs, picking up Bi-Han and setting him on her her shoulder. Bi-Han tilts his body.  
  
“Corliss? Who is this Corliss person?” He asks.

“Friend of mine, long story.” Rei decides to try heading back to the arena again, but a loud roaring behind her makes her sigh heavily.

“Oh **FUCK** me.”

~*~*~*~*~

Back in the exterior courtyard, Liu Kang has walked in, flanked by Kung Lao and Raiden. Earthrealm's remaining warriors, along with Shang Tsung and Kitana, are all waiting in anticipation. Both the sorcerer and Raiden notice that Rei is nowhere to be seen, each one having a different reaction: Shang Tsung with satisfaction and Raiden with slight worry.

"Kombatants! Only one Earthrealm warrior remains." Shang Tsung announced. Raiden nods and Kung Lao places a hand on Liu Kang's shoulder. They nod to one another.

"The Shaolin Liu Kang. Is he ready to bear such a heavy burden? Earthrealm's fate is in his hands…" The elder spoke, leaning back in his seat a bit, "Your opponent will be… Scorpion!"

The hell spawn ninja appears in a flash of fire, Liu Kang assuming a fighting stance. "I do not fear your, demon." He assured.

"Fighting with Scorpion… the sorcerer Quan Chi!" Shang Tsung added, Quan Chi teleporting through a portal, laughing as he does so.

"You have already lost." Scorpion threatened as the group begins to fight. Raiden kept looking around, sensing Azriel’s presence again, gulping a bit. Kung Lao notices, getting Raiden’s attention.

“You ok?”

“Lady Azriel is nearby… I sense it…”

Kung Lao looks around, seeing if he could see the Elder God anywhere. Jax and Sonya did the same, while Johnny looks jealous that it’s not him fighting Scorpion.  From the corner of his eye, Raiden freezes as he sees Azriel, the Elder God standing outside on the rain behind Shang Tsung’s throne, a drawn back rubber band in hand and aiming right for his head. He doesn’t move as he watches what happens next.  
  
**TWANG!!**   
  
Shang Tsung screeches in pain, clutching the side of his head and looking around. Everyone in the room looks startled. Azriel’s delighted cackling could be heard fading into the distance, having ran off the second after she snapped him with the rubber band. Shang Tsung looks around, trying to find the cause of what just blindsided him, but looks disappointed as he couldn’t figure it out, slouching in his seat.

The odds were truly stacked against Liu Kang, but he rose to the occasion and surpassed both Netherrealm denizens with his strength, speed, and fighting prowess. After a intense battle of endurance, Liu Kang prevails.

"As I said, I do not fear you." The Shaolin repeated, "I pity you."

Shang Tsung's eyes narrow with displeasure, not liking where things were going. The monk went over to Raiden.

"You have done well. But the tournament is not over yet." Raiden warned.

"Goro." was Liu Kang's reply, looks of confusion coming from the nearby Johnny, Sonya, Kung Lao, and Jax.

"What's a 'Goro'?" Johnny asked Sonya. The woman merely shrugged in response.

"Liu Kang… it has been years since an Earthrealm warrior has progressed this far." Shang explained, "But the reigning champion is far beyond your ability… To the Lair with you!"

The sorcerer then opened a portal under Kang's feet. He falls right through it and lands hard on the floor of the Lair. It is in fact the prison that Sonya had fought through earlier, and notable there is a large throne that has no one in it. Liu Kang rose to his feet and looks around, spotting no one until a voice sounds out behind him.

"I did not expect to fight in this tournament."

Liu Kang wheeled around and came face to face with an eight foot tall, four armed monster: Goro.

"But eventually even the Shaolin produce a warrior worthy of a Shokan." the Shokan praised, stalking forward to face said monk.

"I know who you are! I am ready for you!"

"I will give you a warrior's death."

The battle is the most intense one of Liu Kang's life. Goro's strength is unparalleled and his endurance legendary. It took all of the Shaolin's skill, speed, and stamina to keep in the fight, but amazingly he manages to it to the Mortal Kombat champion. After what seemed like ages, Goro finally goes down to the Shaolin warrior. Liu Kang couldn't help but grin at his victory.

"It seems the Shaolin trained a warrior greater than a Shokan." Sensing Goro was out cold, he clasps his hands in a prayer of thanks. A portal then opens up behind him, Liu Kang looking up to it with grim determination…

Back above, everyone was waiting patiently for Liu Kang’s return or in the Outworlders’ eyes, Goro’s. Shang Tsung strokes his beard, having a good feeling that Goro would emerge victorious. Raiden was quiet, wanting Liu Kang to be the victor. It was very tense. That is, until the doors to the area were busted down by a large body slamming through, covered in lots of cuts, red blood, and purple blood. The creature in question resembled Goro, but was more feline in appearance and beaten to an inch of his life. Everyone looks towards the broken doorway to see Rei stomping in, arms covering her breasts due to her outfit above the waist being ripped to shreds to preserve her dignity. She was missing both her shoes, and had purple blood oozing out of some wounds. Oddly enough, her stomach area was untouched, a large purple triangular gem unscratched where her navel was. She looks royally pissed off, spitting blood onto the ground.

“I really fucking hate you.” was all Rei says to Shang Tsung before joining the Earthrealm side. Bi-Han comes out of her gem, now slightly bigger than he used to be, resting on her shoulder. Immediately, Raiden rushes to her aid immediately.

“Are you alright?!” He asks, “What happened to you?!”

“Dumbass guards, bitch in green, and four armed giant deformed cats, that’s what happened.” Rei answers through her teeth, “Just another Tuesday for me…”

Johnny looks over, staring with a grin. “Well, ain’t this a treat~”  
  
“Stop staring, you asshole!” Sonya smacks Johnny while Jax takes off his combat vest, offering it to Rei. She accepts it, Sonya keeping Johnny from looking while Kung Lao, Jax, and Raiden look away to give Rei a little privacy. Once she’s got it on, she looks more delighted.

“Thanks Jax.”

“No prob.” Rei and Jax fist bump, Johnny looking disappointed at not being able to see some Asali tits. A portal opens up on the floor, and from it, Liu Kang emerges, looking proud of himself. He sees Rei and looks worried, coming over.

“You ok?”  
  
“Don’t worry about me. Just go kick Saggy Tit’s ass please.” Rei says, glaring at the sorcerer, “Or else I’ll do to you what I did to Ugly McFourarms here.”

Liu Kang sees the body of said creature Rei had taken out, nodding. He turns to Shang Tsung, the sorcerer looked very unhappy at the turn of events.

"Shang Tsung! Only one fight remains! Face me…" He took on a fighting stance.

"…in Mortal Kombat!" Shang simply sneered again as he stepped off his throne and onto the arena, taking on a stance of his own.

"So be it."

While the two started their fight, Sonya and Jax were helping Rei with her wounds, the Asali groaning in pain as she struggled to stay standing, soon opting to use Raiden as a prop to lean against. "I must look like shit right now, don't I?" She joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Trust me, you don't look near as bad as I did when Sonya found me." Jax assured, "Compared to me, you might as well have been mauled by a squirrel."

“Feels like it.” Rei frowns, “Someone owes me a new outfit.”

“Take that up with Shang Tsung, that is, if Liu Kang doesn’t kill him.” Kung Lao adds with a chuckle. Rei just rolls her eyes, relaxing against Raiden and looking happy.

“Mmm~ You’re like a big pillow, Raiden~” She says, nuzzling his chest, making him blush again.

“Told you.” Johnny says with a smug grin, yelping as Kung Lao kicks his leg out from under him, making him fall on his ass. Raiden gives him a look of approval, the monk smiling proudly.

 _“Doing good, Rei! Keep it up. By the way, Azriel wishes to see you and the others after this. Says it's important.”_ Rei heard Corliss, nodding faintly.

Despite the evil sorcerer bringing all of his dark magic, which included fireballs and an ability to morph into any fighter he chooses, Liu Kang fought past all of it, delivering a vicious beat down to the treacherous servant of Shao Khan. Finally, he knocked Shang Tsung to the floor, leaving him beaten.

"Say it." Liu Kang demanded. After some silence, Shang Tsung lowered his head in defeat.

"I concede…"

All the Earthrealm warriors cheered happily in unison. Rei had a huge grin on her face as she cheers, doing a happy dance.

"Whoo! Finally got to see Shang Tsung get whooped!" She cheered, "Man, I wish Ruebi, Safyre, and Monsoon was here to see this…"

"Well done, my friend." Kung Lao congratulated.

"He has saved Earthrealm." Raiden spoke, looking very relieved. A large beam of light, emanating from a portal, descends into the throne room. The Earthrealm warriors plus Rei all surround Liu Kang, offering him congratulations.

"That was awesome, Liu Kang!" Sonya beamed.

"Congratulations." Nightwolf added proudly.

"Way to go, kid!" Jax praised.

"MVP, baby!" Johnny marveled.

Rei moved away from Raiden, skipping over to Shang Tsung, grinning madly. "You just got your ass whooped again, boy! Have fun explaining this to Shao Kahn!!" She flicks him on the forehead before returning to the others, whistling in delight.

Shang Tsung gave her the mother of all death glares before he and his minions take their leave through a portal back to Outworld. The last to depart is Kitana, who casts longing look at Liu Kang. He smiles at her as she exits through the portal. He then turns to face Raiden, who bows his head in congradulations, the monk returning the favor. Kung Lao puts a hand on his shoulder, Liu Kang nodding back at him. Raiden took another look at his amulet expectantly, only to find more cracks appear among it. He ponders the meaning of this with a look of worry, but suddenly felt Rei's arm around his waist giving him a gentle squeeze, as if assuring him everything will be alright.

All he could do was give her a nod in return.

~*~*~*~*~

Back in Outworld, Shang Tsung is on his knees before Shao Khan. Baraka, Reptile, and Kitana stand over the sorcerer expectantly.

"You failed me!" Shao Khan boomed in anger, "Five hundred years I have waited! Now I must wait five hundred more! And what's even worse?" His eyes narrowed, "The fact that an Asali is running around in Earthrealm, and a PURPLE one at that! What if it decides to assist that fool Raiden in future tournaments?! We'll never win another one if it does that! It would only be a repeat of what took place in that damned Mortal Kombat in Purgatory!" He turned away from the group.

"Curse the Elder Gods and their tournament!"

"My lord!" Shang Tsung spoke, trying to catch the Khan's attention.

"I should have taken Earthrealm by force! But, I am bound to their rules." The tyrant moves to sit on his throne, "Rules that cannot be broken."

"My lord-" Shang Tsung repeated, only to be cut off by the Khan.

"Kill him!" Shao Khan demanded, Baraka and Reptile restraining Shang Tsung as Kitana prepares her bladed fans to behead him.

"But what if the rules were changed?" Shang Tsung shouted in desperation, Shao Khan suddenly holding up his hand.

"Kitana!" Kitana paused at her father's call. The tyrant then leaned forward in interest.

"Continue…"


	7. Test Your Might

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first of two intermissions! I had a lot of fun writing this one since this one is more of happy fun times than sad no fun times. And I hope you all do enjoy it!

Corliss was pleased. Oh so pleased.

More and more sub-timelines were starting to go away, and she was even starting to see some new ones take their places. And from what she sees, all of them weren’t nearly as bad as the old ones, and some were outright better and more desirable. It made the Asalian Time Goddess very happy. She switches from the Time Tree screen to another screen that shows Azriel still sitting at the beach, now sunbathing on the beach, and then pulls up another screen, showing the Earthrealmers getting their things to leave the island. Rei still looked pretty banged up, but Sonya and Jax were able to patch up her wounds nicely. She chuckles, activating her mic.

“Good job Rei, you’re a quarter of the way done.” She says into the mic, only Rei being able to hear her, “You got one more Tournament to go and then the Invasion.”

Luckily, Rei was alone since Raiden went to talk with the Monks. _“That’s good to know. How’s everything doing on your end?”_ Rei asks.

“Going great, the bad timelines are going away and new ones are springing up. It’s all going according to plan.” Corliss answers, getting another energy drink and cracking it open, “Azriel’s really happy about it.”

_“I can imagine. Is she still expecting us?”_

“Yeah, she is. She’s sunbathing on the beach right now. Go to her as soon as you can.”

 _“Will do.”_ Rei gives a thumbs up. Corliss switches screens to Azriel’s.

“Azriel, they’ll be on their way soon. The Earthrealmers are getting their belongings and I think they were all invited to the Wu Shi Academy to celebrate. You going to join them?” She asks, Azriel perking up a bit.

 _“Oh yes. I figured I’d help with the celebration. You know I can never turn down a good party~”_ Azriel says with a delighted smile, _“It’ll be a wonderful time for them before it gets shot to hell. Plus I do wish to have a little word with Raiden in private.”_

“Oh? You’re not gonna traumatize him more, are you?” Corliss sips her drink.

 _“Oh goodness no! I still feel bad for making him faint earlier. I was not expecting such a reaction from him.”_ Azriel had sat up, shaking her head and frowning, _“I was expecting more of an awestruck reaction at how an Elder God that wasn’t Shinnok had set foot on Earthrealm. I’m not sure what Izanagi and his crew did to him, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it, and I’m going to fix it. It’s the least I can do for **her** after what befell her.” _

“Who are you talking about?” Corliss looks confused. Azriel doesn’t answer her, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Corliss sighs heavily.

“One of these days, I’m paying Callum my life savings to see what goes on in her mind…”

~*~*~*~*~

“Alright, everyone got everything?” Rei asks the Earthrealmers, “Cause Mom needs to see us once all of you are ready to go. It’s important.”

Jax and Sonya both came here pretty light, both nodding. Johnny had three bags of stuff, though two looked drowned from when Johnny tried to get Liu Kang to help him carry his bags, but Liu Kang had taken Kung Lao’s “wise advice” and chucked them into the pond near the courtyard. Needless to say, Johnny was not very happy when he had to get them out himself, leaving the man soaking wet as well. Nightwolf had left earlier than they did, so he wasn’t joining them on their way off the island. Raiden was silent, hands fidgeting again since he has to see Azriel again. Lastly, Liu Kang and Kung Lao were watching Raiden, seeing he was nervous again.

“We are ready to go.” Sonya says with a thumbs up, “Lead the way, Rei.”

“Let’s go, bitches!” Rei says as she turns around to start heading to the beach, only to run straight into Azriel, who had just poofed in a second before hand. Azriel just chuckles, helping Rei up.

“Hello, my pretties~ Figured I’d just come to you all directly to save you the trip.” She says, arms outstretched in a greeting pose, “I bet you all are curious as to why I needed to see you. It’s not everyday mortals like yourselves get to bask in the greatness of someone like me. All but Raiden, that is, but that’s a discussion for a much later date.” Azriel looks over them all, immediately seeing how nervous Raiden was but doesn’t comment on it.

“In honor of your victory over Earthrealm, I would love to treat you all to a grand feast and some fun! There’s nothing better than having a good meal and fun time with friends and family after something like this. I should know. After my realm’s victory in Mortal Kombat thousands of years ago against Outworld, the resulting celebration was something I will never forget.”

“You had me at grand feast.” Johnny looks hungry, rubbing his hands together, “I’m starving! The food here isn’t all that good.”

“I’m… gonna have to agree.” Jax says, sounding surprised at himself, “The food here does suck.”

“Probably because it was all food from Outworld…” Raiden mumbles, oddly quieter than usual and head hung low. Azriel heard it, her smile faltering a bit, but it wasn’t noticeable.

“Where will you hold this celebration, great one?” Liu Kang asks as he bows to her. Azriel giggles at the show of respect.

“At the Wu Shi Academy of course! Isn’t that where you and your friends are going?” She asks, “Your monk friends deserve to join in on the fun too! The more, the merrier as you mortals would say.”

“Sounds wonderful. It would be an honor.” Liu Kang looks happy. The others look excited as well. A feast gifted to them by an Elder God? It was a one in a lifetime opportunity!! Rei looks at Azriel with a grin, Bi-Han going back into Rei’s gem.

“Express way to Wu Shi Academy?” Rei asks Azriel. Azriel grins.  
  
“Express way.”   
  
~*~*~*~*~

“This is awesome!!” Johnny cheers as he sits at a large table that was filled with tons of food, enough to feed all the monks at the Academy and then some. There was simple decorations up, and Liu Kang was the center of everyone’s attention, the monk getting all sorts of praise and thank yous from his fellow monks. Sonya and Jax were over with Kung Lao, setting up something that Azriel told them to set up while she went outside for a second. Rei was at the table, already eating away happily, giggling in delight.

“Mom knows how to conjure up the best food ever!” She beams, Bi-Han popping out of her gem and landing on a plate of strawberries, which made her giggle more.

“Careful, don’t get mistaken for a strawberry!” She says to the Spectrite, Bi-Han just letting his wing twitch in response. Rei looks around for Raiden, wondering why he wasn’t enjoying the festivities or food. She goes up to Sonya on the raised platform.

“Hey, have you seen Raiden? I figured he would want to join us.”

“I haven’t seen him since we got here. I think he’s just not into parties like this.”

“Or maybe it’s because of Azriel being around?” Sonya and Rei look at Jax, the man continuing.

“I don’t think he’s used to his elders being, y’know. Around like this. Liu Kang tells me the mere mention of Azriel’s name sent him into some nervous panic when he brought up asking Azriel about his visions and stuff.” He explains, “If I had to guess, he’s not around because he’s trying to avoid her.”

“Speaking of Azriel, where is she? We almost have this set up for her, but do not know what she’s planning.” Kung Lao asks. Rei shrugs.

“Hell if I know. I can’t keep track of her sometimes.”

Outside in a secluded courtyard, Raiden was alone, meditating above a lotus pond. His staff was embedded in the ground nearby, and in the distance, storm clouds looked to be approaching. Almost as if they were attracted by Raiden’s presence. Despite being alone, he felt as if he was being watched from above.

He is entirely correct.  
  
**“CANNONBALL!!!”**

Raiden’s eyes snap open one second too late as he’s snatched out of the air and brought underwater by someone that jumped into the pond from above, that someone being Azriel. Panic sets in as he scrambles to get to the surface and out of the pond, trying not to accidentally electrocute himself as he did so. Once he’s clawed his way out of the pond, Azriel resurfaces, giggling like crazy.   
  
“Aww, aren’t you a killjoy~” She grins, Raiden shaking like a leaf as he was trying to catch his breath. She swims over and gets out of the water, sitting next to him.

“I couldn’t resist, my apologies.” She pats him on the back, “You throw a slow ball at home plate, I gotta fuckin’ SWING, y’know?”

“I-It…. It  is fine…” Raiden assures, despite it not being fine, but he wasn’t going to tell her otherwise, “It is my fault for letting my guard down…”

Azriel notices he’s tense and nervous still, raising a brow. She watches as he coughs a bit, now sitting on his knees before her, head down and hands shaking faintly again. It upset her a bit. Usually when she did this with a God or Goddess back in Purgatory, they just reacted with annoyance, empty threats on her life, or even laughed it off, knowing Azriel was just playing around. Then again, things were different in Earthrealm. She makes him look at her, smiling sweetly.

“Raiden, why are you all alone at here when your friends are enjoying the feast inside? Don’t you want to celebrate with them?” She asks. Raiden’s expression seems to soften a bit, averting his gaze.

“I…. sometimes prefer to be alone after stressful situations.” he answers, “I need to relax alone.”

“I can understand that, you’re just like my other daughter.” Azriel lets Raiden’s face go, using her magic to dry him off once more. She sees his hat floating in the pond and gets it out, drying it off with a flip.

“But, this is a once in a lifetime occasion, Raiden. You may be a God, but even some events happen only once. Please come join us.” She gives Raiden his hat back. Raiden just looks down at his hat for a minute, Azriel watching him.

“...ok.” He nods, looking up, “...but might I request an audience with you?”  
  
“Granted, speak.” Azriel allowed, ready to listen.

Raiden takes his amulet off his chest, looking at it. “Earlier in the tournament, I started having these visions of future events that are to happen. My future self sent them to me before he is killed by Shao Kahn. His last words were “He must win”, but I do not know who exactly he is referring to. It was not Liu Kang since my amulet still cracked even after he won, and it troubles me.”

“So that’s why it’s like that.” Azriel looks at the amulet, Raiden taking it off and giving it to her to look at it, “When did this start cracking?”

“As soon as I had the first vision.”

“Interesting… from what I’m hearing, these instances are connected. I believe your future self sent these visions to _prevent_ whatever it was that befell the future and lead to his death.” Azriel theorizes, “So instead of following the visions outright, try thinking outside the box. Like for example, let’s just say one of your visions involves one of your friends getting into a fight that would lead to disastrous results. Instead of encouraging it, knock them the fuck out so they can’t do it. That way, whatever horrible thing won’t happen and your friend will be ok, albeit with a nasty headache or something. I’m sure they’ll appreciate a migraine rather than dying. I know I would.”

 _“Azriel, your idea of thinking outside the box is blowing shit up.”_ Corliss spoke up, _“And while I admit it does work sometimes, it doesn’t work all the time.”_

Azriel ignores her, giving Raiden his amulet back. Raiden looks rather thoughtful at her words, pinning his amulet back on it’s place.

“I see… Do you think it will work?” he asks, sounding hesitant still. Azriel pats him on the cheek.

“Honey, I know it will.” She says, “Have faith in this Elder God. Yes, I may seem like some mental asylum patient with an addiction to blowing things up and trolling the hell out of everyone, but I can be wise and all knowing when I want to be. I just like to have a little fun with my eternal life. Even if it means pissing off those fools that made you a fucking mess.”

Raiden felt an odd sense of comfort at hearing that, just looking at her in slight awe. Azriel smiles again, gently cupping his face in her hands.

“Don’t ever be afraid to come to me if you need anything during my time here. Unlike Izanagi, I’ll listen and help to the best of my abilities.” She assures him, patting his cheek sweetly. Raiden blushes faintly, even after she lets go of his face. All he could do was bow to her.  
  
“Thank you, Azriel.” He says, looking calmer now. She chuckles, helping him up.

“Come, Raiden. Let’s go enjoy the festivities.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Cousin, cousin!”

Kung Lao looks up from his meal to see a four year old boy running up to him, the monk smiling as the boy hugs him. Liu Kang smiles at the sight, but Sonya, Johnny, Jax, and Rei looked confused.

“Who’s the kid?” Rei asks. Kung Lao gives the boy a slice of cake.

“This is my little cousin. Say hi to the nice lady, Jin.” He says. Jin smiles.

“Hello!” He says with a smile, showing a slight gap in his front teeth, Rei squealing in delight. Sonya also had a huge smile at how cute he was. The boy sits next to his older cousin, happily eating the slice of cake with a big smile on his face.

“Lao, you’re gonna spoil him.” Liu Kang warns.

“Hey, he deserves cake once in a while. He’s just 4.” Kung Lao retorts, Jin having stole another piece of cake when he wasn’t looking. Johnny noticed, but he gives Jin a “I won’t tell” look, Jin giggling at that. At that moment, the doors fly open, and in came Azriel and Raiden, Azriel being greeted to a lot of bowing monks. She chuckles.

“Up, ya ninnies, I don’t always need to be greeted to bowing.” She says while Raiden took his seat at the head of the large table. The monks raise their heads, nodding at her request before resuming whatever they were doing.

“Where were you?” Rei asks, “We started eating without you.”

“I had an audience with your mother.” Raiden asks, helping himself to sound food, “I needed insight on my situation.”

“Hope she was able to help you.” Rei smiles. Bi-Han flies off the strawberries when she reacted for some, now fluttering around to see everyone else. Raiden just nods, starting to eat. Johnny looks confused.

“Gods need to eat too?”   
  
“Not exactly, Johnny Cage. We do not require it, but we can partake in it if we choose to. Earthrealm’s foods are quite delicious.”   
  
“That explains so mu-”   
  
“Sonya Blade, I will not tolerate shots at my weight!”   
  
“Rei’s no better. She’s 210.”   
  
“MOM!!” Rei shouts, blushing hard, “That’s not something they should know! And It’s all MUSCLE!!”

Azriel just looks smug, going over to the pedestal. She brings a set of pine boards out of nowhere, placing it on it and whistles to get everyone’s attention. Everyone looks at her with the exception of Bi-Han, who just hovers next to her.

“So, I decided for a little game we could play, we would try something from my realm. We call it “Test Your Might”.” She starts to explain, “The point of the game is to see who can break what with willpower and might alone. Would anyone like to try?”

Johnny cracks his knuckles. “I bet I can break anything!” He gets up and joins Azriel on the stage, “In fact, I can probably outdo anyone here.”  
  
“Wanna put your money where your mouth is, Johnny?” Liu Kang looks interested as well. Azriel looks very interested.   
  
“Oh? Are we going to have a VS match with this?” She asks, looking excited.   
  
“Step on up then, Lulu!” Johnny grins, Liu Kang looking eager to knock him down a peg. Azriel giggles excitedly and uses her magic to make a duplicate pedestal with another set of pine boards.   
  
“Alright boys, all you gotta do is break whatever I put in front of you. First up, pine boards. Something simple. I bet even that little boy over there can break these.” The Elder God points at Jin, the boy eating some chicken now. Kung Lao chuckles at that, nodding to confirm it.

The two men focus their might, all silent. Azriel watches, ignoring Bi-Han on her shoulder. With a small cry, both bring their hands down on the boards, breaking them with ease. The monks clapped, as did Azriel.

“See? Easy.” Johnny grins.

“Anything harder?” Liu Kang asks Azriel without missing a beat.

Oooh, I love your attitude~” She says, “Yes I do~”

Azriel whips out two bundles of bamboo, sitting them on the pedestals. “Bamboo bundles! These are a bit harder to break, and easy to see why Raiden’s hat is made out of it.”

“It is quite resilient.” Raiden confirms, “But it does risk bending and fire damage.”

Johnny and Liu Kang focus their might again, this time taking a bit longer to focus, but once they were ready, they both busted the bundles, though Johnny shook his hand a bit after breaking it. Liu Kang grins as he saw this, not bothered at all. The monks once again applaud this.  
  
“Already in pain, Cage?”   
  
“Hell no. It just stung a bit, that’s all.”

As Azriel makes brick piles appear on the pedestals, Raiden hides his hat, Rei giggling at the sight. “Bricks! Now this will hurt if you aren’t prepared.” Azriel says, “If you aren’t careful, you might break your hand.”

Johnny looks a bit unsure of himself on this one, while Liu Kang is already focusing his might. Johnny focuses his might as well. After a solid minute, Liu Kang is first to bring his hand down, busting the brick pile to pieces and looking very proud of himself. Johnny follows suit, and while he too was able to bust through the brick pile, he shook his hand again, wincing a bit. The monks clapped, and this time, Sonya and Jax joined in, quite impressed. Raiden was too busy eating to notice, while Rei looked unimpressed.

“Getting too hard for you?” Liu Kang asks with a smug look. Johnny glares at him under his sunglasses.  
  
“N-No! In fact, keep it coming!” Johnny says, too stubborn to admit that it really hurt when he busted through the bricks. Azriel decides to be nice and heal his hand before bringing out two gold ring racks.

“Gold rings! Rei can’t even get past this.” She says, Rei hearing that and looking insulted.

“Hey! I got past it-”  
  
“When you decided to use your leg to break it instead via a leg drop. The whole point of Test Your Might is to see if you can do it with your _bare hands._ ” Azriel corrected her, Rei huffing, muttering something about having better leg strength than arm strength. Raiden perks up at that, glancing at for a second, seemingly interested. Liu Kang and Johnny focus their might. And after a minute, they busted through the gold rings, but now both men shook their hands at that, Johnny more so than Liu Kang.

“Jesus Christ….” Johnny swears under his breath. Liu Kang just looks mildly annoyed. Azriel chuckles at that as everyone claps again. She slaps down two large chunks of amber on the pedestals now, both men looking concerned.  
  
“Amber chunks~ Only Deurium, Metal, and Earth Element Asali in Purgatory can break this. But can you humans do it?” She says with a devious grin, “To be honest, as far as I am concerned, only Raiden would be able to break this.”

“Break what?” Raiden asks, not having paid attention. He already had a stack of 3 empty plates near him, only rivaled by Rei’s count. Azriel giggles again, not as surprised as Sonya and Jax are as they looked surprised at how much the two Gods could eat. Kung Lao and his little cousin didn’t look bothered at all.

“Are you trying to get us to break our hands?!” Johnny asks, “This is solid damn amber!”

“Are you chickening out?” Liu Kang asks him, looking determined to prove himself. Johnny frowns, cracking his knuckles.   
  
“Oh hell no.” He focuses his might, as does Johnny. Azriel giggles.   
  
“I’m not trying to break your hands, this is just how we do things in Purgatory.” She says as they focus, “We take games very seriously.”

“Damn right we do!” Rei confirms, “Asali don’t fuck around!”

All is silent, the two men taking a solid two minutes to focus their might. The air is tense, and even Raiden is watching this time. With mighty roars, they brought their hands down, shattering the amber chunks to pieces, but there was also the sound of cracking from Johnny, the actor crying out in pain.

“My arm!!” he yells, having broke it. It was as limp as a piece of bacon flapping in the wind. Liu Kang just grabs his unbroken arm, shouting something in Chinese that was bad enough to warrant Kung Lao to cover Jin’s ears.   
  
“Liu Kang, watch your tongue! There is a child here!!” He says in anger. Jin looked confused, but said nothing as he resumes stealing some of his older cousin’s food.

Azriel heals Johnny’s arm via her magic, Johnny looking thankful once more. Before they thought this was the last thing they had to break, Azriel spoke up once more.   
  
“Now, I would make the last thing you two break be a diamond brick, but seeing as you two could shatter amber, I want to see if you can break a mineral from Purgatory.” She conjures up two large crystals and sets them down on the pedestals. They were bluish green in color and glowed faintly. Rei recognizes the mineral, and looks worried.   
  
“Mom, are you gonna make them break Lazarite?!” She says, sounding upset, “Trinian can’t even break it, and she’s a Deurium Goddess of Empowerment!!”

“Lazarite?” Liu Kang questions. Azriel chuckles.

“It’s a mineral found only in Purgatory. It conducts magic unlike any other mineral, and is known to be 10 times harder than diamond, so it’s often used to craft wands, armor, swords, you name it. The two main ways we “break” it is overloading it with magic or smelting it down like one would iron and gold.” She explains, “Rei’s amulet, for example, is made of treated violet and silver Lazarite, so it’s indestructible.”

“I can throw it at someone’s face and it would do a lot more damage to them than it.” Rei confirms with a grin. Johnny and Liu Kang look at each other, both looking unsure, but at the same time, not wanting to chicken out. They start focusing their might. This time, Azriel watches very carefully, wanting to see if one of these two could break it. Rei watches as well, but she looks really worried. After sometime, both shout like madmen and bring their arms down.

The Lazarite crystals weren’t even cracked. Johnny and Liu Kang’s arms, however, were broken, both crying out in pain. A collective “Oooooooo” is heard from everyone, who either winced in pain or immediately looked away. Rei instinctively grabs her own, feeling second hand pain. Azriel even looked pained to see that.

“That answers my question.” She says, going to heal their arms.

“That shit is really hard…” Johnny curses, screeching like a girl when Kung Lao’s hat narrowly missed him by inches, embedding itself deep into the wall behind him

“LANGUAGE!!” The monk shouts in anger, Jin just tilting his head in both confusion and curiosity. Azriel laughs hard at that as she fully heals the two men, going to get Kung Lao’s hat for him. Raiden looks rather curious, getting up from his spot and heading up to the stage, standing before one of the crystals.

“Raiden, are you gonna try this?” Liu Kang asks, “If what Rei says is correct, you won’t be able to break it?”

“Are you doubting me?” Raiden gives him a questioning look, Liu Kang backing down.

“Hold up! I wanna try too!” Rei joins him up there, taking Johnny’s place, but unlike Raiden, who was close up to his Lazarite crystal, Rei was a few feet back, “I ain’t gonna let some Thunder God outdo me!”

“You can’t even break gold with your bare hands!” Raiden tells her, Rei blowing a rasp at him.   
  
“Who said I was using my hands?” She says, stretching her legs a bit, looking eager, “I never was a fisticuffs type of girl. That’s my sister’s thing. I prefer kickboxing. Watch and learn, Thunder Thighs~”   
  
Raiden looks both slightly insulted and slightly flattered at the same, but says nothing, focusing his might. Rei does the same where she was. All was silent, Liu Kang and Johnny returning to their seats while Azriel gives Kung Lao his hat back. Everyone was watching them, some of the monks looking a bit worried, thinking Raiden would break his arm on this crystal as well. Within a minute, both Gods were ready.   
  
“YEET!!” Rei yells, flipping over to her crystal for a leg drop while Raiden lets out a roar that sounds like thunder booming as he brought his hand down.   
  
**_CRASH!!!!_ **

“HOLY MOTHER OF ME!!” Azriel yells, stunned speechless as Lazarite shards scattered about, everyone cheering happily for the two. Rei was sitting on the ground, leg still outstretched while Raiden stumbled back a bit, both startled at what they did. However, both Rei’s leg and Raiden’s arm looked limp and were bent at odd angles. Once they got over the initial shock, both looked very delighted.

“Suck on that, Mom!!” Rei says very smug, pulling herself up onto her good leg by using the pedestal, “I knew those lessons would pay off!!”

“I think I fractured my collarbone again…” Raiden sounded only mildly annoyed, not concerned about his arm at all. However, he looked more proud of the fact that he got that reaction out of Azriel.

“Pretty rocks!” Jin goes to collect some shards for himself, Kung Lao chuckling at that and helping him. Azriel shakes herself out of her shocked stupor and giggles happily.

“Now that’s not something one sees every day! Congratulations you two!” She heals both Rei’s leg and Raiden’s arm and collar bone, both looking thankful, “Anyone who wants a Lazarite crystal is more than welcome to one!”

Immediately several monks come to get some. Sonya and Jax grab a few for themselves, wondering how they can incorporate the mineral in military tech, while Johnny and Liu Kang decided not to get any. The two gods return to their seats, Raiden smiling for the first time in a while. This wasn’t so bad after all.

~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, everyone was in the courtyard of the academy to watch Liu Kang’s champion crowning. Said Shaolin Monk walks through a congregation of monks and his new friends from the tournament, with the exception of Nightwolf, who most likely returned to his homeland, towards Raiden and Rei, the Asali now with her hair down and in new clothes that looked more casual, her navel gem now more visible. Bi-Han rests on her shoulder, now a bit bigger than normal. Liu Kang clasps his hands in respect and bows his head. Raiden then presents him with a golden medal with a dragon at its forefront, signifying Liu Kang's new status as Champion of Mortal Kombat. He hangs the medal around Kang's neck as the crowd applauds. Azriel joins the group in front of the congregation, arms outstretched again.

“Liu Kang, it is such an honor to have watched you fight so bravely, so diligently for the sake of Earthrealm. The last time I saw anyone like you was my own realm’s Champion, Ti Fa Rin, but she has long since passed, may she rest in peace. While I might not be the Elder God who created Earthrealm, I still want to congratulate and reward you for your efforts.” She proclaims, “Step forward!”   
  
Raiden and Rei step aside so Liu Kang could, the monk bowing to Azriel as well, looking excited. Azriel creates a small ball of light, and when she delicately touches it with her finger, the ball of light turns into arm bracers with Asalian runes on it, along with small gems on it with faint fire patterns surrounding the traditional Mortal Kombat Dragon Symbol. Liu Kang takes them as they came to him, admiring them in awe.

“Dragon’s Fire Bracers.” Azriel explains, “They will greatly enhance your pyrokinetic abilities when worn, and if you choose to learn it, allows use of Fire Magic Spells. Use them with pride and use them well.”

“Thank you, great one.” Liu Kang looks delighted, deciding to put them on now. He immediately felt a difference as he looks them over. He tries igniting his hand…. But ends up igniting his entire body, startling him and everyone else.

“Cousin Liu’s on fire!!” Jin shouts, looking scared. Kung Lao holds him as Liu Kang manages to put himself out. Azriel just laughs hard, while Rei and Raiden just look at each other with “WTF” looks.

“You were not kidding when you said she was like this….”  
  
“At least she didn’t give him a matching spell book. Then we’re all screwed.”


	8. Metal Scratchin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earthrealm is either royally screwed or royally blessed. Or even a little of both, I dunno. And I'm pretty sure my chapter titles are making less and less sense as they go on, but eh. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The morning at the Wu Shu Academy was a pleasant one. The monks were busy chatting among themselves and having a good time, although a good majority of them were watching Azriel show Liu Kang some techniques he could do with his enhanced abilities while the rest were watching Rei as she was up in the air as a target for the two below, now having very beautiful Dragontail Butterfly wings on her back as she dodges or deflects various fireballs launched at her. Up above on a balcony overseeing them all is Jax and Raiden, the former smoking a cigar while the latter was looking at his cracked amulet.

"I do not understand why my amulet is further damaged. 'He must win'. If not Liu Kang, then who?" Raiden pondered, looking at his amulet.

"Ya got me." Jax spoke, "Not sure anybody could have done what he did. Made Shang Tsung look like a chump." In a case of "speak of the devil, and he shall come", a younger looking Shang Tsung walks up to them, seemingly unnoticed until a fireball launched from Liu Kang missed the sorcerer's head by mere inches, causing him to freeze in place.

"Be lucky I chose to miss, Sorcerer!" the monk yells, Azriel giggling. Raiden didn't bother turning around.

"Here to congratulate us on our victory, sorcerer?" He asked, making Jax turn around and throw away his cigar.

"What? Shang Tsung?!" He spoke in shock as Raiden decided to turn around to face said man.

"You have been revitalized, I see." noticed the Thunder God, "I didn't realize your master was in the habit of rewarding failure."

"GET REKT, SON." Shang Tsung nearly screamed as Rei suddenly got in his face, the Asali bitch smacking him before deflecting a fireball back towards Liu Kang, the monk sidestepping it with ease. Jax couldn't help but chuckle and Raiden even had a small smirk. Shang Tsung, however, looked rather annoyed as he rubbed his reddening cheek.

"The emperor has a new offer, Raiden. A new tournament." He explained, dodging another stray fireball, the explosion somehow not affecting the building at all. Probably due to Rei having deflected that one and trying to hit him with it.

"Hold still, asshole! Liu Kang, keep 'em comin'!"

"Try not to miss this time!"

Raiden shook his head. "Heh. I see no reason to participate in any tournament of yours." He answered.

Shang Tsung frowned a bit. "The emperor proposes a single tournament, to replace the current system of ten. It will be held in Outworld. If Earthrealm does not win, Outworld will absorb it. But if Earthrealm wins, Shao Khan will abandon his claim to it forever." He explained, narrowly missing another fireball. The sorcerer growled a bit in anger.

"So close!"

"Shut up, Johnny!"

Raiden chuckled a bit at Rei's antics, secretly hoping she actually did hit Shang with one of those deflected fireballs. "Give your emperor my regards." He answered, Shang Tsung smiling. The sorcerer then generated a portal across the courtyard, and out of it, emerged hundred of Tarkatan warriors. In anger, Raiden started fighting with Shang Tsung as Jax jumps into the rampaging army. But, Raiden's fight with Shang Tsung ends as abruptly as it started as the sorcerer was hit hard by a fireball, knocking him to the ground below unconscious.

"BULLSEYE!" Rei cheered, Raiden looking her way and giving her a thankful nod before joining the others in fighting off the horde, the Asali following. Azriel ran for Jin, the boy separated from Kung Lao when the monsters came in, scooping him up and getting into the air to keep him safe.

Returning to Jax, he clothes-lined one Tarkatan down, headbutts another, punches and knees yet another, throws him down and finishes him with a head stomp. A fourth Tarkatan sucker punches him, a fifth hits him and the fourth then kicks him in the face, sending him sprawling. As he lies on the ground, the Tarkatan brings his boot down hard on his face, knocking him unconscious…

_(Some time later...)_

"He gained a momentary advantage after regaining consciousness and escaped. I now realize what we must do."

"I'm seriously considering just outright dealing with Outworld like I deal with other realms that piss me off… How DARE they send those filthy creatures! They almost hurt poor Jin!"

"Mom no! They got Sonya! At least wait until afterwards!"

"Uggh…. Anybody got a number o' that-?" Jax groaned as he started to wake up. As he did, he spots Johnny Cage kneeling over him, Raiden and Rei standing at his side, Azriel floating a bit about still holding the frightened Jin. But, despite everyone there, something seemed off. "Wait. Where's Sonya?" He asked, looking around for said woman after noticing she wasn't there.

Raiden was quick to answer. "Shang Tsung has taken her."

"We've gotta find her!" Jax demanded as he got back onto his feet.

"We must follow them!" Kung Lao added, Rei nodding. Azriel gives Jin to one of the monks that came to get him.

"Get this boy to safety, or else you're catching these hands." She threatens, the monk nodding and doing just that.

"Kick those meanies' butts!" Jin shouts at Kung Lao, who gives him an assuring nod.

"Shang Tsung has made it clear that Earthrealm will be under constant threat unless I agree to a new tournament." explained Raiden.

"Nuking Outworld doesn't seem so bad now, huh?" Azriel suggested once more, Raiden still ignoring her as he receives another vision. This one was of Liu Kang punching a hole through Shao Khan's chest. Jax was quick to notice Raiden's distant stare.

"Another vision?"

"Yes. I saw Liu Kang win the proposed tournament. I believe we must attend. But, in my earlier vision, of your victory over Shang Tsung, was not the solution I sought. Therefore, this premonition must show an event I need to change. Perhaps 'He must win' refers to another."

Liu Kang looked a bit downcast from Raiden's words, Rei offering a pat on the back in consolidation. Azriel suddenly has an idea too good for her to pass up, and when Raiden was about to shout his approval to the Heavens, she stops him, along with swiping his amulet off his chest, the Thunder God yelping in surprise.

"Actually Raiden, I'm taking over for you." She says, looking devious, "I can guarantee Earthrealm's victory since I fucked Shao Kahn over years ago. Ain't no rule saying an Elder God can't step in to be the "Realm Guardian". Regarding Sonya, I'll ensure her safety as well." She tosses the amulet around on her hand, "While I ensure Earthrealm wins, you and Rei need to do me a favor."

"What, what?" Rei perks up, Raiden looking attentive. Azriel pins the amulet on her hip before summoning a strange looking bomb.

"I need you both to go blow up Outworld's Soul Tombs."

"WHAT?!" Both yell in shock, startling the others.

"You cannot be serious!" Rei says, "That place is like the Well of Souls back home!"

"Thousands of innocent souls are trapped in there! Blowing up the Tombs could erase them for good!" Raiden tries to reason. Azriel swats them both on the head, Raiden immediately looking afraid while Rei looks annoyed. Azriel looks upset at making Raiden react that way.

"Sorry. Still trying to get used to how Earthrealmers react around me." She pat the Thunder God on the head.

"What's with the funky bomb?" Jax asks. Azriel perks up.

"Glad you asked!" She gave it a twist and opens it up, revealing it's inner components, "This is a Gravitech Delta Pulse Bomb. Very highly advanced, has an explosion radius of 2 miles, and can completely demolish anything in the blast radius within seconds. Any living creature caught in the blast radius will have their soul unharmed if they have one, and are guaranteed passage into Purgatory. Those who don't have a soul are completely annihilated. The souls trapped within the Soul Tomb will be completely unharmed and will be sent to my realm, so there's nothing to worry about."

"So it's a mini nuke in a sense?"

"In a way, yes. These are usually used during times of war for my realm, but sometimes I can't resist having a little fun with one~" She lets Jax have a closer look at it, "Normally, the way it is right now would mean it's active, but this one is a dud I carry around to show off."

"Amazing! Your realm must have some advanced tech!" He looks impressed, as does Johnny.

"Purgatory's THOUSANDS of years more advanced than any other realm." Rei confirms, "We've combined Magic and Technology in order to keep advancing. In fact, when Purgatory looked similar to Earthrealm today, it was like, what? Just a few millennia old?"

"I'll tell you all that later. Right now…" Azriel crafts another bomb and gives it to Raiden while Rei gets a backpack with supplies flung at her, knocking her down. She snaps her fingers, and just like that, Raiden's now in a more proper expedition outfit, a simple blue ninja outfit with knee high boots and was without his cowl, the Thunder God's snow white hair exposed. Raiden looks startled, nearly dropping the bomb in shock.

"A-Azriel!" Raiden blushes harder, putting his hat back on his head that was strapped to his back, "Why change my clothes?"

"Honey, you don't need to get your good clothes dirty." She tells him, "Plus you need something more fitting since this is also partly a stealth mission. Everything you two need is in that bag Rei has."

"Yeah, I'm alright, thanks for asking." Rei says in an annoyed tone after she got up, putting the backpack on. Bi-Han comes out of her gem again, fluttering next to her as Azriel spoke again.

"Once you get to the heart of the Soul Tombs, activate the bomb, throw it in, and run like you're about to get violently murdered if you even so much as think of stopping." Azriel tells them, "Cause you don't want to be caught in the blast. Trust me on this. And just to make sure neither of you are hindered…"

Azriel takes her own amulet off, pinning it to Raiden's chest. She takes Rei's and uses her magic to power it up, giving it back to her. Both immediately feel a surge in their powers, Raiden fidgeting in place a bit and giving off a LOT of static while Rei seemed to be agitated by sunlight, shielding her eyes.

"This should allow you both to be at full strength in Outworld." She says. With that, she opens a portal to Outworld, "Have fun you two!" She says… before drop kicking both of them into the portal. Bi-Han yelps, flying in after them, and once he was through, the portal shuts. The four humans all looked startled at this, but say nothing as Azriel turns to them.

"To Outworld, my lovelies!"

~*~*~*~*~

Within Outworld, we see Goro bringing what appeared to be an amulet with a yin-yang symbol in the center to Shao Khan. The emperor studied it for a second before returning it to the Shokan. All was quiet and calm until Azriel slides in.

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY~" She says with a huge grin, Shao Kahn's scream of horror being heard throughout the fortress. Goro and the group to Tarkata that were also there looked quite terrified. Once Shao Kahn regained his composure, he looks royally pissed.

"What are YOU doing here?! I was expecting Raiden!" He demands. Azriel tsks, Jax and Johnny coming in, both having heard the scream.

"Oh, I sent him and my daughter on an errand. Until then, I am Earthrealm's Temporary Guardian." She poses to show off the amulet, looking very smug. Shao Kahn's heart drops again, the emperor growing very pale.

He was already having regrets. And already thinking of how to kill Shang Tsung.

"I can already tell we're gonna have a  _swell_ time…" Jax already looks so done with having to follow under Azriel. Johnny was missing Raiden already. Meanwhile, neither of them noticed that Liu Kang and Kung Lao were absent, but Azriel wasn't gonna spit out where she sent them until one asked. Jax sees the sorcerer next to Shao Kahn's throne, looking like he was sweating bullets.

"She'd better not have a scratch on her." spoke Jax as he stalked toward the throne. Shang Tsung just glares at him.

"Looks like we have a volunteer for Kombat!" He announces in order to save himself an ass beating from the S.F. Major.

Jax stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"The tournament will begin!" Shao Khan announced despite his pale look, the Tarkatan Crowd roaring in approval.

"Jackson Briggs! You will face… Baraka!" The sorcerer announced, the Tarkatans cheering louder as Baraka unsheathes his blades.

Jax tilted his head a bit. "Damn, you ugly."

"My blades will find your heart!" Baraka threatened as the First Kombat began. While the fighting and the cheering of the Tarkatans took place, Johnny looks at Azriel.

"So, where's the Kung Fu twins?" He asks.

"I sent them to free the captive Shaolin. And maybe crack a few skulls." Azriel answers, "As for Rei and Raiden, I hope things are going well for them."

"Same." Johnny nods, "I think your daughter is crushing on Raiden though. That why you slapped them together?"

Azriel just gives a smirk that confirms Johnny's question, the man grinning.

"Nice." They fist bump. The battle between Jax and Baraka was a hard fought one, but in the end, Jax had prevailed, standing tall over him.

"You shouldn't be runnin' with those." He joked. While two Tarkatans rushed over to retrieve their fallen comrade, Jax approached Shang Tsung.

"Where's Sonya?" He demanded, earning a smirk from the sorcerer.

Shang smirked smugly. "Tell me, Major Briggs; Do you and she do anything other than rescue one another?" This made Jax growl and the Tarkatans laugh.

"Well, don't you do anything besides being Shao Khan's little bitch?" Azriel asks with an innocent look, joining Jax. This infuriated Shang Tsung, but made the Tarkatans laugh even harder. Shao Khan also found this a bit amusing, chuckling a bit.

"Enough!" Shang Tsung shouted, everyone going quiet, "Your next opponent will be-" He was cut off by Reptile, who appeared from behind him and started whispering in his ear. "What is it?" Shang asked, Reptile continuing his whispering. Shang looked rather pleased.

"Excellent. It seems I have a pressing matter to attend to. With the emperor's permission, we will reconvene later." He spoke. Shao Khan approved with a wave of his hand, rising from his throne. Jade and Kitana look knowingly at one another and walk off. As Shang Tsung was about to leave, he was forced out of the room via fireball to the back, thanks to Azriel.

"What was that all about?" asked Jax, "I think we should follow 'im."

" _Azriel, Sonya's about to be executed! You gotta get to her quick!"_ Corliss spoke, Azriel nodding.

"We need to get to Sonya first." She says, "She is far more important. I should be able to teleport us directly to her."

"You  _should_?"

"I lended Raiden my amulet for his and Rei's errand so his powers aren't hindered here. But, for some reason I feel weaker wearing his." Azriel examines the amulet again, puzzled, "It's like this thing's a nerf."

"Well, can you still try?" Johnny asks.

"I most certainly can." The Elder God nods.

~*~*~*~*~

"Well, shit."

Azriel looks more confused than angry, looking at the amulet more while deep in thought. They had ended up in the Armory instead of where she actually wanted them to go. "Corliss, what is going on here? I should have been able to take us direct to her!" She says in an angry whisper.

" _I don't know! You shouldn't be weakened here, but I'm looking at your power levels now and it seems to be cut in half."_ Corliss says, typing being heard, " _That amulet may be a nerf, since I'm seeing that your base power got cut in half the second you swapped amulets with Raiden. You're still a lot stronger than anything here, but you'll want to be more careful. Are you sure you'll be fine carrying it around? Or do I need General Orion to retrieve the Soul Taker?"_

"Have him retrieve the Soul Taker and send it to me. I need at least some proper protection here." Azriel orders quietly without missing a beat, "I need it immediately. The passcode to my personal vault is Higanbana."

" _Yes ma'am!"_

Azriel sighs a bit, pinning the amulet back to her hip. She looks over at Jax and Johnny, Johnny looking around while Jax was fiddling with his wrist comm.

"Wish this damn tracking device worked in here." Jax complains, looking annoyed.

"This is just like my movie Time Smashers!" Johnny compares with a smile, "We're goin' around in ti-"

"Give it a rest, will ya? Making my ears hurt. "Jax cut him off, Azriel giggling a bit.

"So what's the deal with you and Sonya, anyway? She's smokin' hot!" Johnny asks. Jax glares at him.

"It's not like that. I'm her C.O."

"Honey like that under my command? Oh, I'd be so-"

"You'll wanna stop talking no- Azriel, what's with the popcorn?"

"What?" Azriel says, hiding the popcorn bucket she had with a innocent grin, "What popcorn?"

"But if it's not like that, you mind if I-" Johnny was cut off by Jax sucker punching him, looking very pissed.

"That's it! Time somebody shut you the hell up!"

"CATFIGHT!" Azriel yells as the two start brawling. She brought the popcorn bucket out again, enjoying the show. Corliss' chuckling is heard.

" _Orion's on his way with the Soul Taker. This is a good way to pass time until then."_ She says, " _You want a status report on Rei and Raiden?"_

"Nah. I'll hear the full story later. I wanna be surprised by their little adventure." Azriel shakes her head, "I trust that they'll succeed in their mission."

" _I know they will."_

"No shit, you know everything."

" _Not everything!"_

Azriel just rolls her eyes, watching as Jax and Johnny still fight. Johnny does his best to defend himself, but Jax was definitely no pushover as a result of military training. He has Johnny flat on his ass by the time he was done with him.

"How you like that, Mr. A-List?"

"Enough, Jax. Don't kick a man while he's down. It's unsportsmanlike." Azriel says, tossing the now empty popcorn bucket into the lava nearby. She goes to help Johnny, Jax huffing a bit. Their moment of peace is interrupted when a new person joins them in the Armory.

"You lookin' for something?" Jax asks their latest occuptant, Jade.

"The Armory is restricted. You will leave now." She says without missing a beat.

"No, you." Azriel shot back, but she was ignored.

"Gonna have to ask nicer than that."Jax says before being met with the tip of Jade's staff to his face. Azriel helps Johnny up, treating his injuries.

"Thanks… best Medic I've ever had." Johnny praises. Azriel smiles.

"You flatter me, Johnny. But it's nothing. I won't let any of Raiden's defenders perish under my watch." She tells him, bringing out another bucket of popcorn from Elder Gods know where.

"Popcorn?"

"Is it extra butter?"

"It's drowned in it."

"Perfect!"

They just sit back and watch the fight, munching on the treat as Jax and Jade put up a very entertaining fight. It even attracted the attention of the blacksmiths nearby, some cheering at having some entertainment. Azriel could even hear Corliss comment every now and then. By the time they both had cleaned out the bucket, Jade was knocked out, the blacksmiths looking delighted at such a fight, and Jax looking proud.

"Wrong place, wrong time, lady." He comments, going over to Azriel and Johnny.

"Feel better?" Johnny asks.

Jax nods. "A lot. And uh.."

"Don't worry about it. Guess we know where we are now, thanks to her."

"Yeah, let's get the fuck outta here. I would rather be in the heart of the Temple of Flames back in my realm than this place." Azriel says, tossing the second bucket into the lava. She and Jax start to leave, Johnny confused.

"Uh…"

"Come on, Cage."

~*~*~*~*~

Several octagon dice with unknown symbols rolled on the floor. Several guards of an unidentified Outworld species are playing a game in the Dead Pool area. Sonya is tied up nearby and being guarded by Sheeva, Sonya looking rather angry and Sheeva mildly annoyed.

"What is it with you Shokan and underground cesspools?" She asked, not liking the situation one bit.

"If you had not dishonored yourself by attempting to escape, we would not be here in this sewer." Sheeva answers, not looking at her. From the other end, we hear voices.

"Sweet myself, it smells worse than the rotting corpses in the Netherrealm!"

"So much for stealth…"

"Sonya!"

Everyone turns to see Johnny, Jax, and Azriel enter the room. The door behind them slams shut, but the guards all look very hesitant to attack at Azriel's presence. Azriel just grins and decides to use their hesitation to their advantage.

"Get 'em, boys!" She orders with a clap, Jax charges forward, ducks some swipes from a guard with a two edged mace, grabs the weapon and clobbers him with it. The guard falls into the pool and is dissolved into nothing but blood within seconds. Jax throws down the mace and leaps over the remaining guards. Johnny charges from behind and engage them while Jax faces down Sheeva.

"She is the emperor's property, human." She spoke, Jax shaking his head.

"She's NOBODY'S property!" Jax corrected as they proceeded to throw down. Two guards had decided go big or go home, charging towards Azriel. She notices, and low sweeps them, knocking them to the ground. She proceeds to pick them up by their collars, both immediately regretting their life choices. She gives them a sweet look.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't just drop you into these acid pits~" She asks.

"I-I have a wife and kids!" one says, "I-I only took this guard job to support them!"

"Fair enough." She lets him go on the ground, the guard running away, thankful for his life and muttering something about rethinking his life choices. Azriel looks at the other one intently.

"Uh…. I don't want to die?" it answers.

"WRONG ANSWER!" She yells in his face before slam dunking him into the acid pit, making sure Johnny and Jax weren't hit with any splashes. She dusts her hands off and looks proud of herself, ignoring Johnny nut punching one guard enough to make him fall into the acid pit from the pain, Johnny looking surprised at accomplishing that. Sheeva's pained yell and a loud thud gets Azriel and Johnny's attention, Jax having defeated her.

"I guess extra arms don't make a difference." He heads over to free Sonya.

"You sure have a way with women." She jokes as he gets her off the hook and cuts her restraints with a knife.

"You know me. I'm a class act." Jax jokes back. Azriel and Johnny join them, the Elder God checking Sonya over for any injuries.

"Thanks guys, what took you so long?" Sonya asks.

"He was busy hitting me in the face." answers Johnny with a grin.

"And I was enjoying the bitch fights." Azriel adds. Jax and Sonya both smile at that, chuckling. A beeping sound is heard, Sonya checking her wrist comm.

"That's weird. I've got two sets of readings, heavy tech signals, both of them." The other three look at her wrist comm as well.

"I'll be damned, we got company!" Azriel grins, "We better go meet up with them. They may be potential allies!"

"Or enemies." Jax adds, "We need to be careful."

"Careful's my middle name, hon." Azriel boasts, Corliss' snort being heard.

" _Once again, your middle name is Danger, Azriel."_

"Let's go, my pretties! Jax, where do we need to go?" The Elder God asks the SF Major.

"Thirty clicks that way, ma'am."


	9. Rei & Raiden's Bizarre Adventure Pt: 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter came quicker than imagined, huh? Well, I had been writing it alongside the last chapter since they both kinda happen at the same time. Those of you who know of the more obscure Mortal Kombat Games will recognize where this is from. Do enjoy!

Things were not going well. Things were not going well  _at all._

**"GET ME OUT OF THIS FUCKING TREE!"**

**"I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING!"**

Rei screams as she was flung around by a tree branch. She, Raiden, and Bi-Han had came out of the portal straight in the heart of the Living Forest, Bi-Han nearly getting eaten by one of the trees. Normally the trees would have left them alone, but due to Azriel drop kicking them in, they had both crashed into a tree, and managed to piss it off. Now Rei was being tossed around like a rag doll, Bi-Han was trying to freeze the branch that was holding her, and Raiden was fighting off a swarm of putrid corpses to try and get to Rei.

"Good thing these corpses are fragile!" Raiden stated as he split kicks two corpses and punches off another's head, but is jumped by one from behind, and tries to shake it off. Bi-Han manages to freeze the branch that had Rei, the branch snapping as a result of being frozen and Rei's weight, dropping her onto the ground. Rei hits the ground with a thud, but she quickly gets up, rushing to help Raiden.

"Get your filthy, decayed hands off MY man!" She snarls as she rips the putrid corpse off Raiden and flings it into the mouth of another tree, the tree devouring it instantly.

 _"Satisfy our cravings to pass."_  It says, it's voice deep and with an echo. Raiden dusts himself off, Bi-Han landing on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Rei… but since when am I your man?" He asks.

Rei just grins. "I just felt like saying it, plus someone's gotta watch your back, since you clearly can't do it yourself."

"You just got tossed around by a tree like a rag doll." Bi-Han spoke up, Raiden snapping to look at him with wide eyes.

"Sub-Zero?!" He says in shock.

"Yes?" Bi-Han answers, calm. Rei grins, taking him from Raiden.

"What part of me saying "or is it" earlier did you not get?" She laughs at Raiden's confused look, but she's immediately grabbed by the same tree, screeching as it flung her to the other side of a pit full of very spiky vines. Raiden just shook his head, floating over the small pit to check on her.

"You were saying?" He asks, watching her just lay there with an annoyed look, Bi-Han resting on his shoulder again.

"Fuck you." was Rei's response, the girl getting up, "Don't you know your way around here?"

"I am afraid not. The Living Forest was one part of Outworld I dared not enter until now." The Thunder God answers.

"Great, so we are lost." Bi-Han deadpans. Raiden looks at him again, but sighs. He'll get Rei to explain how she had Bi-Han in such a state later. But for now, they had to keep going.

"I am sure if we search, we will find our way." He starts heading down a path, Rei following him. They come across a wall of spiked vines blocking the way to what looked to be ruins. A small campfire was the only thing that lit the area, and there was another tree nearby, but this one seemed dormant. They see the spiked vines, both frowning.

"Oh crap, how are we gonna get past that?" Rei complains, "I'm not about getting thorns up me snatch!"

"Perhaps we can find a way to burn the vines down. There is a campfire here." Raiden thought out loud. He starts moving towards the campfire, but Rei notices something  _moving_ on the group. She quickly grabs Raiden by his belt, pulling him back.

"Don't move another step." She says sternly, "We're not alone."

"We are surrounded by living trees, I know we are not alone." Raiden looks confused.

"Not like that!" She says. The movement on the ground is revealed to be caused by strange shadowy humanoids that rose from the ground, brandishing sickles.

"The girl can sense us?" One spoke.

"It matters not. We will kill them!" Another says.

"Yeeees!" The third one adds.

Rei cracks her knuckles, "Stand back, Raiden. I'll show you why I embody darkness!" She proclaims before rushing out. The shadow creatures retreat into the ground, cackling. Rei just reaches down into the shadow like it was water and yanks one out by it's throat, Rei smirking.

"What's good?" She says, the shadow creature gulping.

"Mommy…" it mutters lamely before Rei starts beating it senseless. The other three come out to try and save their friend, but Rei proceeds to use the one in her hand as a glorified club, pummeling them with it. Eventually, the one in her hand was barely alive, so she throws it into the vine wall, impaling it on the spiky thorns. She sees one trying to get away and grabs it by the leg, spinning it around before flinging it into the vine wall as well. The final two she decides to just kill via stomping their skulls in. Raiden looks quite impressed at the whole ordeal.

"A wonderful display, Rei." He praises.

"Shadow Demons are child's play." She boasts, "They can't hide from me!"

The wall of vines starts to move, coming down to allow them passage. The two Gods notice, but then also have an epiphany, Raiden sighing as he pinches the bridge of his nose while Rei face palms.

"...we couldn't just flown over it." she says with a groan.

"You both are idiots." Bi-Han comments, flying up to the ruins and waiting on them. Raiden floats up there while Rei summons her wings to flutter up there herself. They walk through the ruins and end up in another area in the forest. This one had a small pond with a waterfall flowing. Across the way was another living tree, along with several more putrid corpses walking about.

"Ugh, more of these disgusting things?" Rei complains, looking grossed out as they occasionally vomit up blood and bile.

"The tree earlier said to satisfy their cravings and they'll let us pass. I believe that means we are to feed them these corpses." The Spectrite spoke. Rei looks even more grossed out, dry heaving.

"While it may seem vile, it is our only means out of here." Raiden says, calmly going up to one of the corpses, grabbing it, and slinging it into the mouth of the tree, said tree devouring it instantly to the sound of Rei's dry heaving.

 _"The forest hungers for life."_  the tree spoke.

"We get that, anything useful?" Rei asks it, but it goes silent once again. Raiden slung the other one into the tree's mouth to see if it would answer. But sadly, it didn't, but it did look satisfied. Rei sighs heavily.

"We're gonna be here a while…" she says, looking upset.

~*~*~*~*~

Upon going through another ruins pathway, they come at another new area, a campfire illuminating it. Another lake with a waterfall is here, along with another living tree that was similar to the one that slung Rei around earlier. There was a small temple that had some clay statues in front of it, though two looked darker in color than normal. Near them was yet again, another campfire.

"Oh great, another tree…" Rei frowns as she jumps over the small creek leading to the lake. Raiden just floats over it.

"Try not to go near it." Raiden says dryly as he goes to example the small temple. The second he approaches the small temple, the two darker clay statues come to life, startling him. Usually their shields would needed to be broken first, but due to startling Raiden, he just electrocutes both statues, blowing them to pieces. Now Rei looked impressed.

"How'd you do that?" She asks, amazed. Raiden just blinks, realizing what he just done.

"I… I do not know. I think it might be due to Azriel's Amulet." He looks at it. It looked very pretty, having a more butterfly theme than a dragon theme.

"Well duh! It's an amulet of an Elder God! It powers you up!" Rei grins, "I bet you're able to shock anything to death at this point!"

"She may have a point." Bi-Han adds. Raiden nods, pinning it back in place.

**_"HELP ME!"_ **

The trio were startled by the sudden plea for help, looking around. "The fuck?" Rei says.

Bi-Han flies up higher to see if he can see where the shout came from. Across the small lake he sees two transparent skinned humanoids running their way. One is female, the other male. The female looked to be running away from the male, looking desperate.

"Help!" She screams again, jumping onto the rocky platforms on the lake, narrowing avoiding getting bitten by the large river snakes. As she jumps closer to the waterfall coming out of an ominous temple, she trips on a root, getting stuck. The male creature grabs her, pulling her up.

"How DARE you try and run from me, beloved!" He says in anger.

"I am NOT your beloved! Let me go!" The female one begged, but the male isn't having it, tying her up. She sees the trio, and screams.

"HELP ME PLEASE!" She begs, but she's silenced by the male knocking her out.

"Hey! Let her go!" Rei yells, Raiden attempting to hit the male with a lightning bolt. The male creature dodges it, hopping up the pedestals to where the waterfall starts.

"No one will tear me away from my beloved!" He proclaims, "Not even a God!" He runs into the temple carrying the female.

"We must save her!" Raiden shouts, flying after them. Rei and Bi-Han quickly follow, heading inside. They come out of the pathway and into the murky and humid temple. More of the spiky vines covered a path that was up ahead, and there was a small pond before them. Bi-Han flies up high again to see the male heading into the deeper part of the temple through an entrance that looked like a giant snake mouth.

"He's going deeper in, but we need to rid of these vines to cross safely." He says, flying back down to Rei and Raiden's level, "They are far too high for us to just fly over."

"Well, shit." Rei huffs, "Guess we need to find some more of those corpses to fling into them…"

"But yet I see none." Raiden looks around, stepping forward. The second he set foot into the water, spikes shoot up from the other side, putrid corpses fall from the sky, and four snakes emerge out of the water, looking hungry. He blinks.

"You were saying?" Rei says in a snarky tone. Raiden shoots her a glare.

"くたばれ." Raiden says, Rei looking confused while Bi-Han immediately understood thanks to studying the Japanese language, the Spectrite snorting loudly and trying not to laugh. Rei looks at him.

"What did he say to me?"

"Same thing you said to him earlier."

"WHAT?!" Rei glares looking angry, "How dare you! Don't have the guts to say it to my face in English?!"

Raiden couldn't answer back, fighting off the corpses while avoiding the snakes trying to bite him. Rei goes in to help despite being mad at him while Bi-Han stayed high in the air to avoid both the snakes and the fight below. Rei attempts to throw one corpse into the spiked vines, but the snake near it snatches it out of the air before slamming it into the water a few times. It tossed it up into the air and caught it in its mouth, going back underwater to devour its prey.

"Raiden! Feed the snakes!" She says, fighting another one. Raiden grabs the one he was fighting and throws it in the direction of the other snake closest to the wall, the snake snatching it and smashing it around a bit before going under with it like the first one. Two more corpses drop from the ground, but before they could even get up, the two Gods grab them and sling them into the open mouths of the final two snakes, who proceeded to just go under with their prey. While the spikes surrounding them went down, the vines blocking the way to the snake mouth entrance didn't. Bi-Han flies down to rejoin them.

"I surely thought feeding the snakes would bring those vines down." He muses, "However…"

"Please tell me there isn't another-"

"-tree? Yes. And it looks hungry."

"Gods damn it."

"Rei, we cannot damn anything right now."

Rei just shoves him into the water, Raiden glaring at her. At least the water was shallow. He gets up and joins Rei as she walks towards another campfire. Another tree was seen not far from them, and two more corpses were walking about.

"Your turn." Raiden says, "Feed the tree."

"I'd rather get electrocuted." Rei frowns.

"I can make that happen." Raiden already has an electrical current in his hands.

"I was joking!"

"Joking or not, I still will do it if you do not go feed that tree."

Rei lets out an annoyed groan. "Fine!" She goes up to one of the corpses, grabbing it and throwing it into the mouth of the tree, the tree devouring it happily.

 _"Chameleon hides with the giant snakes with his unwilling bride."_ It spoke, Rei blinking.

"Chameleon? Who the fuck is Chameleon?"

"That may be the name of who took the girl." Bi-Han notes, "Look, the vines went down."

The two Gods saw that the vines indeed went down around the snake mouth entrance, and along with that, the eyes on saif mouth were open. An eerie green glow comes from within. The two Gods look at each other, nod, and head in.

~*~*~*~*~

"Oh! This is familiar."

"Huh?"

They came to a strange room illuminated by torches. In the center was a small indented area with eight lines in the ground leading to it. The lines connected to what looked like to be doors. Raiden goes near the center indent.

"I have seen something like this before. It is to test your agility in hitting opponents." He turns to Rei.

"How fast are you able to hit these targets?" He asks, inviting her over. Rei looks confident.

"I'm pretty damn fast, thank you very much." She boasts, "Shall I prove it?"

"Do go for it." Raiden steps back.

Rei steps onto the center, the area glowing. Two doors open up, and two clay statues were sent her way. She smashes them with ease before they were able to be sent back.

"Excellent! Now faster!" Raiden tells her.

Rei grins, watching as four more came out, this time moving at a faster rate. She ends up hitting all four with a break dance-esque kicking maneuver, looking smug.

"Good! Prepare for more!" Raiden warns her, looking impressed. Bi-Han does as well as he rests on his shoulder. Rei prepares herself, looking ready. 6 more statues come flying out at her at a faster rate, Rei hitting them all with the same break dance kick, but this time she is glowing faintly with a light purple magic, as if she charged something up.

"You're quite fast, but there is one more test." Raiden tells her.

"Good! I get to show you something then." She grins, looking eager.

With that, all 8 doors open, sending out statues again at the fastest rate it could. Rei does the break dance again, but this time without the kicks, and when she finishes with rather stripper like pose on her knees, shadow spikes shoot up from the ground around her, hitting all the statues at once and destroying them.

"Shadow Rave, baby!" She grins, "My own little technique I made when I ascended~"

Raiden was very much impressed, clapping a bit. "You are certainly very creative." He praises with a smile.

"Why thank you~" She bows happily, "Since I can pretty much do whatever I want with shadows, I decided to come up with techniques exclusive to me, Shadow Rave was one of the first ones."

"To be honest, I did not think Darkness Deities could do anything like that. I assumed they were like Moon Deities." Raiden says, looking around the area a bit. He sensed that they weren't alone, but couldn't figure out where the enemies were.

"Nah. Moon and Darkness Deities do different things." Rei corrects. The sounds of something hitting the floor nearby makes her sigh heavily.

"Corpses?"

"Corpses."


	10. Ssssmokin'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the shorter chapters, but I'm still happy with it.

In a barren wasteland far from the forest, we see two new people: one clad in all grey and giving off a smokey aura, and another that appears to be dressed like Sub-Zero. There was burning buildings in the background, but neither seemed the care. Neither did they care about the corpses scattered around them.

"We should stay together, Tundra." the one in grey recommended, " Assuming your brother's identity will certainly draw attention. Not all of it welcome."

"You are right, Smoke." the blue one complied, "But assuming Bi-Han's identity is the best way to honor him."

The grey one, now known as Smoke, nodded. "Let us proceed then, Sub-Zero."

"We should separate. Our fellow Lin Kuei will not be far behind once our absence is discovered." said Sub-Zero.

"If only they had been more forthcoming with the details of your brother's demise..." Smoke shook his head, "We will find Shang Tsung. He will tell us all he knows."

"If he killed Bi-Han, he will die." Sub-Zero mused as he turned to face his friend. "Be stealthful as the night..."

The two placed a hand over their hearts as Smoke spoke, "...and deadly as the dawn."

Sub-Zero remains silent before walking off. As Smoke watches him leave, he turns around at the sound of a new voice. Walking towards him was Kitana, and she didn’t look too pleased.

"The emperor was wise to send me here." the voice, now found to belong to Kitana, spoke, "The Lin Kuei do walk uninvited in his realm, as does that pesky rogue Elder God.”

Smoke faced her, snorting in amusement. "Wise though your emperor might be, he was foolish to send his housemaid to interfere with Lin Kuei business."

That statement did NOT set well with the blue clad assassin. "I am Kitana, Princess of Outworld!" She corrected, "And I deal harshly with sharp-tongued intruders!" She flung her fan towards him, Smoke dodging it. Nearby resting on a rock was a strange man dressed in belly dancer clothing, a very long scarf, and a veil over his face. all colored pink or light blue. He appeared to be napping. The sounds of fighting, however, did wake him up, and he looked quite upset.

“Man, I can’t catch a break…” he mumbles, getting up and turning to see the fight. He notices one is Kitana, looking more annoyed.

“Oh. No wonder. Didn’t wanna have to do this, but I’d rather keep my head on my shoulders…” The man lowers his veil, and takes a deep breath. Waiting for the right moment, he lets out a horrible, ear piercing scream. Kitana and Smoke both yell in pain, Smoke running off while he could towards the forest while Kitana fell to the ground, clutching her ears. After a few more seconds, he stops screaming, putting his veil back on and jumping down towards the Edenian Princess, looking at her. Kitana didn’t notice him due to being in pain from the scream still.

“Sorry, Princess. Not today.” He tells her before running off himself. It takes Kitana a few minutes to recover, and when she did, she looks furious.

“That Siren will pay for such insolence when I get my hands on him!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, look at this.”  
  
Azriel, Johnny, and Jax were in the outer areas of the Living Forest, just exploring around. Azriel could sense the very faint presence of Rei and Raiden deep within, and just looks slightly frustrated. She and Jax look over to where Johnny was, the actor picking up a piece of purple cloth that was stuck to a tree branch.

“This looks like it came from Rei’s top. Is she and Raiden around here?” He asks.

“Probably, I can faintly sense them here.” Azriel answers, looking around, “Looks like this amulet does nerf my powers a bit… That should have sent them directly to the Soul Tombs, not here.”

“Hey, you’re still probably stronger than anything here regardless, right? You’re an Elder God!” Johnny assures with a smile, “And everyone makes mistakes, don’t beat yourself up over it. I’m sure they’re fine.”

 **_CRASH!!_ **  
  
Johnny and Jax flinch from the sudden sound of something collapsing in the distance, Azriel chuckling. “Yep, I’m sure they are fine. Probably destroying something deeper into the forest. Like I always taught Rei, “More rubble, less trouble!””

“Is everyone in your realm like that?” asks Jax, finding a small piece of blue cloth on the ground, most likely belonging to Raiden’s clothes.

“Oh yes. Asali are assholes by nature. If they aren’t profusely cussing you out and telling you “fuck off” every 5 minutes, you’re doing something wrong.” Azriel explains, “They just like to have fun, do things at their own pace, and chill.”

“You made them that way?” asks the actor, passing by the legs from a devoured putrid corpse.

“Not intentionally, but they did adapt my personality during the early years where I was a LOT bitchier and stupid. I let them thrive on their own while I keep my watchful eye over them. I wanted them to be independent and not depend on me unless the situation absolutely requires my help. It’s worked very well, they’ve thrived so much and made Purgatory what it is today, a paradise and a never ending party.” Azriel answers, “Maybe one day I’ll take you and your fellow Earthrealmer friends to my realm for a visit. I just know you all will enjoy it.”

“Now that would sound like a good time to use my vacation days if what you said was true.” Jax chuckles, “A never ending party sounds great.”

“Oh, it is, trust me!” Azriel beams happily, both she and Jax ignoring Johnny screaming as he was flung over them by the same tree that had thrown Rei around earlier, the man landing a few feet in front of them groaning in pain.

“I hate this fucking forest already…”

~*~*~*~*~

In another part of the forest, Smoke can be seen sneaking behind trees, slowly getting closer to something that had intrigued him. From where he was, he sees Kano and Shang Tsung, the two holding rocket launchers and testing them out. The sound of rockets exploding in the distance is heard, and the sorcerer looks quite impressed.

"With a whole army totin' these, no one in Outworld or Earthrealm could stand up to you." Kano pitched as he shot off a rocket into the distance. Shang Tsung examines another launcher as the sound of another explosion was heard.

"Well done. You may tell your fellow Black Dragon that I am very interested in your merchandise." Shang Tsung praised, watching as Kano shot off another rocket. Smoke then walks into the clearing.

"Shang Tsung!" He called out, both Shang Tsung and Kano looking rather bothered at the intrusion.

"I'll take care of him. No charge." Kano offered as he puts down the rocket launcher and walks towards Smoke.

"One dead Lin Kuei in a tick." He boasted as another fight broke out. Shang Tsung whistles for some assistance in getting the various weapons out of there, several Tarkata coming to his aid. They quickly got all the weapons out of there safely, one staying behind with Shang Tsung with the proper payment for Kano. However, Smoke ends up winning the fight with the mercenary, Kano unconscious.

“Stay down. I would have words with your associate." The Lin Kuei warned as Shang Tsung walked into Smoke's path. Smoke turned to him.

"Tell me what you know of Sub-Zero's death." He demanded. Reptile suddenly appears next to Shang Tsung and snarls, ready for combat. Shang Tsung simply stops him from advancing and attempts to morph into the Elder Sub-Zero. Keyword: attempt as when he tried, he failed, leaving him in a state of 'what the fuck?'

Smoke looked rather confused. "What?"

Shang Tsung mumbled something to himself that Smoke faintly heard had something do with with Asali before he faced Smoke. "Despite his failure at my tournament, I'll wager he was more powerful than you, Lin Kuei."

"Insulting my strength will get you nowhere, Sorcerer." Smoke retorted as once again, a brawl broke out. Tasked with facing both Reptile and Shang Tsung at once, Smoke ends up in one of the most difficult fights of his life. Nonetheless, he uses all of his skill and tricks and manages to defeat both kombatants. The fight over, Shang Tsung fell to his knees.

"Now answer me! What do you know of Sub-Zero?!" Smoke demanded, about to go punch the daylights out of the fallen sorcerer when suddenly, he himself was punched in the face instead.

"What?" Smoke shouted before another voice spoke up.

“Smoke!”

As Smoke looks around, he gets hit in the stomach. He's struck twice more and staggers back. Smiling at the distraction, Shang Tsung conjures up his magic and teleport himself and Reptile away. Somehow during the fight, Kano managed to slip away as well. And above them, there was the sounds of something creaking, as if it was about to break. Sektor disables his camouflage and stands in front of Smoke - but not as a human. He was now completely cyberized.

"You have disobeyed the directive to remain at the Lin Kuei temple." the cyborg stated.

"Sektor?!" Smoke stammered in disbelief.

"You will return with us to begin your transformation." Sektor continued, not bothered by Smoke's shock.

"You actually did it..." Smoke couldn't believe it, "You're a cyborg!"

"We are the Lin Kuei. More stealthful than the night... more deadly than the dawn!"

Smoke gets ready to fight for his life when suddenly, there was a very loud snap above, followed by the sounds of shrieking. Smoke barely had time to react as he looks up and shrieks, ducking and covering his head. Sektor reacted far too late as the remnants of a bridge, lookout post, and several dead guards came crashing down from above. Once the dust and debris dissipate, Smoke opens his eyes, realizing he came out without a scratch on him. Meanwhile, all around him was the debris of the post, now dead guards, and many other crushed cyberized Lin Kuei. Sektor had been knocked out by the bridge part, some sparks coming off of him. Smoke had the biggest look of confusion.

“What in the world…” he mutters looking up.

“Sucks to suck, assholes!!” one voice yells.

“And STAY out!” another yells. A loud sigh was heard following that. Smoke couldn’t see where the voices come from or who they belonged to, but he was very thankful nonetheless.

“Whoever you are, I thank you greatly!” He yells, but never got an answer. He took the time to examine some of his cyberized comrades as Azriel, Johnny, and Jax emerged from the forest, having heard the loud crash and came running over.

“You ok?” Jax calls out to him, Smoke looking over. Other Earthrealmers were here too? It was a welcome sight to him.

“Yes, I am fine. I’m not quite sure what just happened, but I believe I had help from above. Literally.” he answers, “I was almost cyberized by my own allies…”

“Ouch.” Jax examines some of the cyborgs as well, more interested in the tech. Azriel comes over.

“Hello, darling~ Are you lost?” She asks. Smoke could feel the godly aura around her, bowing out of instinct.

“N-No, but I am on a mission, and could require your assistance.” He sees Raiden’s amulet on Azriel’s hip, raising a brow, “You bear Lord Raiden’s Amulet…!”

“Oh yes! I’m in charge of Team Earthrealm right now. I sent Raiden and my daughter on a mission. I’m an Elder God, you see.” She grins as Smoke’s expression immediately pales. Johnny pats him on the back.

“She’s cool, don’t worry about it.” He assures the assassin, who calms down a bit.

“Mind if I haul one of these back to S.F. with me? This tech looks interesting.” Jax says, lifting one of the deactivated cyborg Lin Kuei onto his shoulder. Smoke just shrugs.

“Do as you want with it, that thing is no longer my ally.” He says, glancing over at Sektor, “The red is Sektor, a former ally of mine.”

“Wait, that’s Sektor? The hell happened to him?!” Johnny looks stunned.

“The Cyber Initiative got him.” answered the grey Lin Kuei, “Me and Sub-Zero were against it, and when we heard that were to be joining it, we came here.”

“Call my crazy with a K… But didn’t we see him die?” Johnny looks over at Jax, who nods in confirmation.

Smoke ignores Johnny. “The Grand Master intends to turn all of the Lin Kuei into cyborgs. My friend is in danger.”

“We can help you there, young one.” Azriel assures, “In fact, I believe your friend may be interested in the tournament that is going on. Join us, and we will help you and your friend stay safe and away from that crazy motherfucker that is your Grand Master.”

Smoke just looks both confused and stunned at Azriel’s words. What Elder God talks like _that_? Johnny just laughs at his expression.

“You’ll get used to it.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, that was an ordeal.”

“That was scary…”

Kung Lao just rocks Jin as the last of the Shaolin escapes the ship and return to Earthrealm via a portal Liu Kang opened up with a strange crystal gifted to him by Azriel. Kung Lao was still outraged that the Tarkata had the nerve to take his little cousin, and swore they would pay. However, Liu Kang had beaten him to the punch, having used his newfound enhanced abilities to burn almost all of them into nothing but ashes and cinders.

“Liu Kang, I don’t think it would be safe to send Jin back with them. What if more Tarkata show up and try to kill more of them?” Kung Lao muses.

“Are you saying he’s safer with us here in Outworld? Lao, there’s just as big of a chance as him getting hurt here than he is back home.” Liu Kang argues. The other Shaolin just shook his head.

“We have Azriel to guide us, plus you are basically a Fire God at this point with those bracers she gifted you. You nearly burned down the ship as I was evacuating our fellow monks.” Kung Lao says, Jin clinging to him and shaking, “I don’t want my little cousin hurt.”

“Your Papa Wolf is showing, brother.”

“Well, someone’s has to! I don’t trust my uncle and aunt more than I can throw my hat. If they can’t protect Jin, who will?”

Liu Kang did have to admit, Kung Lao’s aunt and uncle were incompetent at times, and seeing as they weren’t able to keep the 4 year old safe, was it safer to keep him with them? He doesn’t know what to do.

“I wanna stay with Lao!” Jin whines, “Don’t wanna be taken by Tarkata again!”

“Even he agrees he’ll be safer with us! Please, Liu.” Kung Lao says, rocking Jin again to calm him down, “I’d rather get chewed out by Raiden or our Elders than see Jin get hurt or killed.”

Liu Kang sighs heavily. “Fine, but if Raiden, Azriel, or our Elders ask, this was YOUR idea. I’m not getting yelled at again.”

Kung Lao just chuckles. “It is worth both the risk and the punishment.”

“Yay!” Jin looks happy.

“Until we are sure he’ll be safe, give me your hat.” Liu Kang says.

Kung Lao sputters a bit. “W-What? What do you need with my hat?”

“Your main focus is going to be Jin. I’ll be the one fighting. I know how to use your hat just as well as you do.”  
  
“Liu Kang, the last time you tried to use it, you nearly decapitated Raiden and Kai and caused another monk to get stitches in his arm. The day I give you my hat is the day Raiden says a swear word other than damn and hell in English.”


	11. Rei & Raiden's Bizarre Adventure Pt: 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we see our two Deities making a new friend. And also an explanation for Smoke's unintentional divine intervention save.

“Ugh, I’m jumping into the nearest clean lake once we get out of here…”

Rei looks upset as she uses a spare cloth she found in the backpack to clean herself up, getting most of the blood and bile off of her. There was a huge pile of charred and sliced up corpses nearby, Raiden throwing the last of them onto said pile.

“It is not that bad, Rei. It could have been worse.” He says, joining her, “I didn’t know you could manifest blades made out of shadow like that.”  
  
“And I didn’t know you could charbroil a damn corpse.” She says, “It’s probably the only saving grace of being in here with these things still. Smells like well cooked pork.”

“Focus, you two. We need to go deeper.” Bi-Han advises as he comes out of Rei’s gem, slightly bigger once more, “Over there.”

The gods watch as Bi-Han flutters over to a cavern nearby that went deeper into the temple. The two nod and head downwards into the cave, Bi-Han resting on Rei’s shoulder. More of the clay statues were around, Rei immediately going to smash them. Raiden raises a brow.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not chancing any of these fuckers coming to life.”

“...good point.”

Raiden starts breaking some as well, not wanting to deal with them either. They smashed through at least 20 of them before they came across a rather slim bridge over a chasm. Fog and steam arose from it, but it didn’t bother the three. Voices could be heard up ahead through the entrance above them.

“Let me go you brute!”

“We must repopulate our race, why can’t you understand that?”

“I’d rather the Saurians die out that mate with you! You’re horrible!”

“You’ll have to accept me sometime, Princess!!”  
  
“Go die in a hole!!”

“Saurians? I thought that Reptile guy was the last of them?” Rei looks at Raiden.

“I did as well…” He says, puzzled, “I did not realize these two were also Saurians… but it sounds like they are… incompatible.”  
  
“No shit, dummy!” Rei says, cheeks puffed out, “This is straight up kidnapping of she wants nothing to do with him! Let’s go whoop his ass!”

“Yes, no male should ever hold a female against her will.” Bi-Han adds, flying up to the entrance. The two gods follow, going inside. Once inside, they’re treated to a very large and empty room. Most of the architecture was breaking apart, and there was a bunch holes in the wall. The four pillars around them holding the rooftop up were crumbling, looking like some well placed hits could knock them down. As the trio come in, they hear something.  
  
“Behind you! Up here!”

Raiden and Rei look forward to the female Saurian in a makeshift cage on a still intact platform, trying to break out. “Help me out! Please!!” She begs, “I don’t want to mate such such a horrible waste of breath!”  
  
“Hold on!!” Raiden flies up there, “We’ll get you out, we promise.”

“Like hell you will!!”

Raiden barely has enough time to react before the male Saurian, Chameleon, drop kicks him off the platform into the wall nearby, Raiden shouting in pain. Rei rushes over to help him up, looking worried. Raiden gives her an ‘I’m ok’ look before they look up at Chameleon.

“You attempt to take away my future bride? I won’t let it happen, especially considering you’re responsible for what happened to us Saurians, Raiden!!” He shouted in anger.

“It was an accident! I did not mean so many Saurians to perish at my hand, Chameleon!” Raiden explains, “But drastic measures were needed to ensure Shinnok would not win!”

“You idiot! It’s not Raiden’s fault! It was Shao Kahn’s for driving our race to extinction when he fused Zaterra with Ourworld!” The female yells at Chameleon, “Are you that stupid too?”

“You will pay for your crimes, Raiden!” He yells, letting out a loud hissing noise. The ground begins to rumble, and from the very entrance Raiden and Rei came through came a gigantic snake, venom oozing from both it’s fangs and mouth. Chameleon grabs the female Saurian from her cage despite her protests and jumped down from the platform and onto the snake’s head. On the ground opened a secret door to another room underneath them, Chameleon jumping in with his unwilling hostage. The two Gods run over to try and get to that room as well, but the guards their path, hissing loudly and snapping at them. They barely managed to get away, watching as the creature starts slithering around the room, mostly around the pillars.

Rei tries to attack the snake head on, but it was able to resist her attacks, swatting her away with a swipe of it’s head, knocking her into one of the pillars and causing it to break down. Rei manages to avoid being crushed by part of the roof caving in via somersaulting out of the way. It starts moving around a different pillar, Raiden having an idea.  
  
“Rei! Smash the pillars!!” He yells, swiftly jumping onto some of the broken platforms, avoiding the snake as it tries to attack him to get to another pillar. It almost got him as he smashes the pillar down with one punch, teleporting away back to the center of the room to avoid the debris from the ceiling. He yelps as Rei springboards off his back to get to another pillar nearby, the snake barreling towards her. She screeches as it knocks her off one of the platforms, but Raiden catches her, the girl grinning.

“Such a gentlemaAAAAAAA-” She barely had time to react as Raiden had threw her back up. She looks angry, but she sees the snake coming at her again, making her gulp and quickly bust the pillar down with some well placed kicks.

“We’re gonna talk about this later, Raiden!” She yells at him as they both gun it for the final pillar, “I don’t appreciate being yeeted without my permission!”

“Just smash the damn pillar!” Raiden demands.

They both skillfully avoided the snake, letting out battle cries as they successfully smashed the final pillar. The snake hisses loudly, snapping at them. Rei barely avoids it, nearly falling off the platform, but Raiden catches her in time. Bi-Han avoids the debris and quickly retreats into Rei’s gem for safety as the ceiling collapses. The snake looks ready to attack again, but is crushed by the debris above, the floor collapsing as a result. Without missing a beat, both jump down into the watery pit below, the now dead snake’s body laying still in the shallow waters.

“Behind you!” A voice yells, Rei sees the female Saurian tied up nearby, but then she sees Raiden get flung into a wall right before she’s sucker punched in the face, making her fall into the shallow waters. Both Gods look to see Chameleon, and he looked angry.

“You two are persistent pests…” he muses, “But even Gods can fall to the might of mortals. I’ll kill you both to avenge both my race AND my pet!!”

“I’d like to see you try, fish face!” Rei says, Raiden recovering from his unwelcomed introduction to the wall, wiping some blood from his mouth.

“Kill him, Raiden!!” The female Saurian shouts. Rei looks annoyed that she wasn’t mentioned, but was more concerned with beating the shit out of Chameleon. Raiden had already started brawling with the male Saurian, seeming to prefer not using his upgraded powers in favor of his bo staff and bare hands. Rei joins in the fight, going in with a battle cry. Chameleon dodges most of their attacks and fires back with his own, one of which ruins Raiden’s staff via melting it. Chameleon suddenly vanishes, the two gods looking around.

“Where did that fucker go?!” Rei yells.

“Behind you!” Raiden yells, Rei barely able to react in time as Chameleon started slinging balls of green energy at them.

“Dance, pathetic fools, dance!!” Chameleon cackles from his spot atop the dead snake as the two gods scramble to avoid the balls. Raiden fires an electric bolt back at him, knocking him back down to the ground by them.

“You won’t stand in my way, Thunder God!” Chameleon tackles to him to the ground, but the Saurian is promptly drop kicked away by Rei, the Asali creating needles from the shadows nearby to sling at him. Chameleon dodges all but one, the one that landed nailing him in the shoulder.

“You can’t hide from a Shadow Goddess, Chameleon!” Rei makes more shadow needles and slings them at him. Chameleon growls, quickly vanishing into thin air. Raiden quickly looks around, knowing how Saurians can cloak, but he remembers the water beneath them.

“Rei, watch the water! He cannot fully hide himself!” He says, dodging acid balls and energy balls being thrown at him. Rei does just that, but ends up getting tripped up by Chameleon, an acid ball hitting her in the back and damn near making her shirt dissolve away, the article of clothing now barely held together. She blushes hard, and looks furious.

“COME HERE!!” She yells, flinging more shadow needles at wherever she saw the water moving and being sure not to hit Raiden or the female Saurian, who was cheering them on. Raiden seems to had enough as well, flinging lightning bolts around as well. Eventually, both a shadow needle and lightning bolt both hit Chameleon, knocking him out of his invisible state. The shadow needle had impaled the Saurian’s leg while the bolt had stunned him.

“You’re going down!” Rei strikes a pose, slapping her own ass and pointing at him. She rushes over and grabs him, suplexing him into the ground and bouncing up from it and flinging him towards Raiden.

“Heads up, Raiden!”

“I got him!” Raiden catches Chameleon into a headlock, giving him one hell of a shock, the Saurian screaming in pain before Raiden flings him up into the air with a roar, charging at him. Rei does the same with a battle cry, leaping up into the air from the other side. With precise timing, the two gods slam their knees into Chameleon’s skull, completely crushing it and to drive the point him, they each grab one of his legs as they slam into the ground, destroying what’s left of Chameleons’ head while splitting his legs apart, a tearing sound being heard. They both get up, what’s left of Chameleon’s body flopping over. Blood turned the water around them red, but neither cared.

“Eat shit, dirtbag!” Rei cheers, looking very giddy. Raiden just looks oddly pleased with himself, catching his breath. On the fly teamwork was something he didn’t quite expect.

“Well… that was certainly something.” He says, dusting himself off, “We do make quite a team.”

“Duh.” Rei grins. Bi-Han came out of her gem again, feeling it was safe enough to do so.

“Um… help?”

The trio look to still see the Saurian girl still tied up. Bi-Han flies over and freezes the ropes, the girl breaking free with ease. She looks very grateful.

“I owe you two my life!” She says happily, running up to hug them both. Raiden and Rei both blush at the sudden show off affection, just looking at each other with confused looks. The Saurian girl moves away and bows.

“I am Khameleon.” She introduces herself, “And no, it’s merely coincidence that my name is the same as Chameleon’s. Mine is spelled with a K.”

“Nice to meet you, name’s Rei.” Rei introduces herself with a grin, “You already seem to know Raiden.”

“Yes, and I do apologize for befall your race, Khameleon.” Raiden adds, sounding a bit guilty. She shakes her head.

“There is no need to apologize for something that is not entirely your fault, Raiden.” She assures, “It is Shao Kahn that caused the demise of the Saurians. My people suffered because of him, I had to watch countless Saurian children starve because of him!”

“A horrible demise indeed…” Bi-Han says quietly, “How did you and Chameleon survive?”

“I had survived due to breaking away from my village years prior to their demise. I tried to save them, but I couldn’t stand Chameleon trying to be chosen as my mate! He’s not the type of Saurian I’d want to raise children with. I had to fake my death in order to get away from him. It worked for sometime, I fled to Earthrealm and lived among humans for a while. I was at the tournament, but I’m sure neither of you recognized me.” Khameleon giggled.

“You was at the tournament?” Raiden asks.

“Yeah! I was the pretty girl in grey.” Khameleon answers, shifting into said female ninja in grey with a wink, “My human disguise is very good, no?”

“That’s really cool!” Rei beams.

“How did Chameleon find you though? And how come Reptile didn’t shift into his human form?” Raiden asks her. Khameleon shifts back into her default transparent form.

“Turns out Chameleon was at that damn tournament too disguised as a ninja in grey. He caught me changing back to this and had been chasing me all this time. I thought I could flee by coming through the forest and hoping a tree snagged him and ate him, but you saw how that worked out. As for this Reptile…” she looks angry, “He is a traitor, and I wouldn’t dare reveal myself around him. He sided with the very monster that destroyed our people!!”

“Understandable.” Raiden nods, “Are you going to be ok?”

“I’m already so much better knowing _he’s_ dead.” Khameleon nods happily, “Is there anything I can do for you two in return for saving me?”

“Do you know the way out of this forest?” Rei asks, “We don’t know how to get out cause _SOMEONE_ decided that avoiding this place was the best idea.”

“Rei, I swear to the Elder Gods, I will throw you off the first cliff we come to if you keep insulting me.” Raiden threatened her. Rei just blew a rasp at him, Raiden smacking her upside the head. Khameleon just nervously laughs.

“Y-Yes! I know the way out, but I’m sure it’s almost nightfall, and that’s when the real mean creatures of the Living Forest come out. I have a hut in the treetops you two are more than welcome to stay at for the night.” The Saurian offers, “You two look like you need rest after that whole ordeal.”

Rei and Raiden blink, looking over each other. They did look pretty beat up, and rest would surely be welcomed. Plus Rei needed to check what was all in this backpack Azriel gave her. Both nod at her offer.

“Sounds wonderful, Khameleon.” Raiden nods, Khameleon bouncing a bit.  
  
“Awesome, let’s get out of this temple!”  
  
~*~*~*~*~

After sometime, the group had gotten out of the temple and was now back at where Rei and Raiden first came into the forest from. The tree that flung Rei around looked eager for Round 3, an eerie cackle coming from it. Rei hides behind Raiden, not wanting to get flung around again. Raiden found it oddly amusing.

“Frightened of a tree? And here I thought you were a Goddess with self-respect.” He taunts her, Rei looking at him with a deadpan look.  
  
“Joke’s on you, I have none.” She says flatly before giving his ass another hard smack, Raiden yelping again with a blush.  
  
“Stop that!”

“No! Your ass is so smackable!”  
  
“Play nice, children, or I’m taking away your toys.” Khameleon jokes as she goes over to a vine wall, removing her mask and using her own acid spit to melt it away. Behind the wall was another temple-like building. A very large tree was growing out of it, and there was a ladder build onto it. She quickly climbs the ladder, heading upwards. Rei and Raiden choose to just fly up instead, Khameleon seeing this and scoffing.

“Show Offs.” She reaches the top, followed by the two Gods. The treetops looked like a bunch of tree houses connected together by plank bridges, but some of the bridges seemed to be slowly rotting away. Rei and Raiden look around, noticing that most of them were abandoned. Khameleon sees this too, looking a little sad.

“There used to be so much life up here…” She says quietly, “At least before I left a few years ago. I hope everyone is alright…”

“I am sure they left to find a safer refuge.” Raiden attempts to comfort her, “The Living Forest is not exactly a place for anyone to live in.”

“Better than Whisper Swamp back home. Entire damn forest that the swamp is in is fucking haunted and tries to kill you.” Rei says, looking down at the forest floor below, “At least here it’s the just the trees.”

“Well, before I left, everyone was thriving quite well and we even had a decent trade system going on with Sun Do.” Khameleon says as she starts walking over a bridge, the two Gods following, “My home is not far from here. Hopefully it is still at least halfway intact.”

They carefully tread over the bridges, the structures creaking. Rei looks nervous, but doesn’t say much. Raiden had been floating a few inches above the bridge as to not risk breaking one of the planks and falling through. As they came upon another abandoned tree house, they see what looked to be guards patrolling the next one.

“Who are these masked men? I’ve never seen them here before…” Khameleon ponders, “Are they friendly?”

“Intruders!!” One of the guards immediately says as it spots the trio. More come out of nowhere, Khameleon squeaking.

“G-Guess not!”

“Get back!” Raiden orders, getting in front of Khameleon and Rei, firing lightning bolts at any that tried to cross the bridge. He yells in pain as he was hit with an arrow to the knee shot by one of the ones that couldn’t get across, making him collapse onto his good knee. Rei looks angry, summoning more shadow needles and slinging them towards the guards.

“Raiden, you’re hurt!” Khameleon rushes to the Thunder God’s aid. Raiden shook his head.  
  
“I am fine! Stay back.” He says calmly, getting up despite the searing pain in his knee, and gets back to shooting more lightning bolts. Some combined with Rei’s shadow needles to make electrified shadow needles, which made for an interesting sight. More guards emerged, some with bows and arrows. Rei looks worried until she gets an idea.  
  
“Raiden, cut the ropes to this bridge!” She orders, looking around at the tree house across from them, trying to look for a weak spot. Raiden creates electrified blades with his hands and cuts the ropes, preventing any guards from crossing. Rei sees a weak spot, a single decaying rope holding most of the structure up, and she slings another few needles at it, There was a loud snapping sound, and the group watches as the structure tumbles to the ground below, the guards shrieking. Bi-Han finally comes out of Rei’s gem, wondering what all the commotion was about right as they heard everything crash to the ground below.

“Sucks to suck, assholes!” Rei yells down at them.  
  
“And STAY out!!” Khameleon adds, stomping her foot to the ground. Raiden had fallen back onto the ground, sighing heavily as he looks at the arrow still jammed in his knee. He contemplates pulling it out, but remembers that it would only do more damage that way. The two girls look at him, both looking worried.  
  
“You gonna be ok?” Khameleon asks, Raiden nodding.

“I will be fine… but I need one of you to push the arrow all the way through…”

“W-What?!”  
  
“Pulling it out does more harm than good. Pushing it all the way through is the only way to remove it safely. I would do it myself, but I might do more harm than good knowing my strength.”

“Not it!” Rei says, touching her nose with her finger. Khameleon sputters a bit before huffing.

“Oh, you beast! Fine. I’m not gonna enjoy this…” Khameleon looks nervous as Raiden straightens out his leg the best he could, looking very much in pain. She gets a good grip on the arrow, and starts pushing it down more, Raiden almost snarling, static cracking all around him. The Saurian kept pushing down in it until the arrowhead punctured through the back of the Thunder God’s knee, and once she sees it, she grabs the arrowhead end and pulls the arrow out, Raiden looking to be both relieved and in pain at the same time. Rei dry heaves in the background, Khameleon tossing the bloody arrow off the tree house with a disgusted look.

“We need to get you to my home soon. I can treat your wound.” She offers, “I studied medicine with the Edenians not long ago so I could help out others in need.”

“Can’t you just heal yourself like you did with Jax?” Rei asks. Raiden shook his head.

“I could, but my powers only can heal external wounds. This one is both external and internal, so I can’t fully heal it.” He answers, grunting as he tries to move his injured leg. Khameleon goes over to an abandoned bed, tearing off enough cloth to make a makeshift bandage with to wrap the wound in.

“This should help it a bit. Rei, help me get him up.”

Rei and Khameleon both help Raiden to his feet, the Thunder God gently pushing them away to float.

“I can manage, do not worry about me.” He assures them, “I just cannot walk.”

“If you say so.” Bi-Han muses as he lands on Raiden’s shoulder, “Where is your base, Khameleon?”

“It’s across from here, but since we destroyed the bridge, I guess one of you has to carry me-”

Khameleon felt herself being grabbed by Rei, the Asali yelling “YEET” as she flung Khameleon over, the Saurian screaming. She was caught by a large hand made of darkness on the other side, Rei flying over with a cheeky grin. Raiden follows behind, looking like he got secondhand embarrassment. Khameleon looks highly shaken up, but just looks at Rei.

“I-I guess that’s one way to get me over…”

“Clearly you don’t know how I work.”


	12. Absolute Zero

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter's a bit late due to a combination of work, Fallout & Pokemon distracting me, and not having much to work with, so this one's also a short chapter. Still hope y'all enjoy it regardless!

In an unknown location that looks quite eerie, we see Sub-Zero freezing someone into a block of ice, the person inside looking like some sort of Spartan Ghost with equally strange weapons to match. Once he was fully encased in ice, Sub-Zero steps back to admire his work, looking quite proud of himself. 

"A pity you could not have cooperated." He mused, suddenly being surprised as a cyborg in yellow deactivated its stealth camouflage and approaches him. Said cyborg is Cyrax.

"You are ordered to return to the Lin Kuei Temple for assimilation." He ordered.

"Cyrax!" Sub-Zero gasped in shock. To think that the Grand Master actually went through with his plan... It was very disheartening.

"I am Lin Kuei Unit L-K-4-D-4. You will come with me." Cyrax ordered once more. Sub-Zero assumed a fighting stance.

"I am sorry for what they did to you, but I will not comply!" Sub-Zero refused, going after the cyborg with all he’s got. As the fight went on, something in the chamber nearby seemed to be waking up, very annoyed by the noises outside. It slowly starts to form as the fight goes on, Sub-Zero managing to come out as the winner in the end. Seems as if cyberization didn’t mean automatically better.

"I will face the Lin Kuei when my task is done, not before." The blue Lin Kuei Assassin boasts, but as Cyrax manages to teleport away. Sub-Zero turns to see Sonya and Jax entering the chamber, the two looking around curiously at this strange place.

"The readings were pretty strong here, and now they're gone. I-" Sonya stops at the sight of the ninja.

"Sub-Zero?!" Sonya gasped, "But... you're dead!"

"I am not the Sub-Zero you speak of. He was my brother." Sub-Zero corrected.

"Your... brother?" Sonya looked confused.

Sub-Zero nodded before speaking, "As for why I'm here, I'm only here to learn of his fate."

Sonya and Jax look at each other for a moment before Jax nodded his head on approval.

"He was killed by someone named Scorpion." Sonya explained. .

"Where would I find him?" asked Sub-Zero.

"Try the Coliseum. That's where-"

A strong vibration suddenly emanates from the Soul Chamber itself. A wave of partly formed souls float out and around the area, starting to fully form into its physical form: Ermac.

"You have disturbed our regeneration process." Ermac speaks as he’s complete, floating in the air.

"Ermac!" Jax shouts as he rushes the ninja and grabs him by the throat, "Gotcha!"

As Jax attempts to throw a punch, Ermac stops it by raising his glowing telekinetic hang. The then uses his other glowing hand to telekinetically remove Jax's choke hold. The man is unable to stop his arms from being moved out to his side. Suddenly they start vibrating with green energy and he starts screaming in terror. With telekinesis, Ermac brutally explodes Jax's arms into bloody pieces and shoves him to the ground.

"Jax!" Sonya shouted, rushing over to him and quickly cauterizing the bloody stumps that were Jax's arms with her wave energy blasts, "Stay with me, Jax!"

Ermac faced down Sub-Zero, not caring about what he just done. "We will break you as well."

Sub-Zero shook his head in defiance. "Not if I break you first." He warned before another fight broke out.

~*~*~*~*~

“This is an awful long walk to the Coliseum…”

“At least Jin’s having fun.” 

“Pretty bird!” 

Kung Lao chuckles as he and Liu Kang were heading towards the Coliseum in the distance, Jin now walking with him. The boy stays close to his older cousins, admiring a colorful Outworld breed of parrot as it flies overhead. There wasn’t any major problems so far, and any minor problems they had was burned to ashes immediately. Kung Lao was sure Liu Kang was having way too much fun with his new bracers at this point. Up ahead, they see a village by the coast line, and both monks had the same idea of going to rest for a bit. 

“Stay close, Jin.” He tells the 4 year old, Jin doing just that as they go into the village. Many Outworld races lived here together, Jin whimpering a bit as he saw a few Tarkata that seemed to make this village home. The two older men looked to be very on guard as they looked around, greeting some of the natives that didn’t look threatening or harmful. However, they see familiar faces heading into a nearby building. Raiden was being helped by Rei and Khameleon, Bi-Han resting on the brim of Raiden’s hat. Raiden looked to be in a bit of pain despite still floating in the air. Liu Kang rushes over, Kung Lao taking Jin’s hand to follow him.

“Raiden!” Liu Kang calls out, getting the Thunder God’s attention. Raiden looks delighted to see Liu Kang, turning to him with a smile.

“Hello, it is a welcome sight to see you and Kung Lao unharmed.” he says.

“Too bad Raiden took an arrow to the knee.” Rei says, “Kammie got it healed the best she could, but he’s not gonna be able to put any weight on it until we get back to Mom and the others.” 

“Who is Kammie?” Kung Lao asks, Jin staying close to him. 

“Me!” Khameleon says with a wave, “I’m Khameleon, but Rei calls me Kammie for short.” 

Kung Lao and Liu Kang greet her with a bow. Jin runs up to Raiden. 

“Uncle Raiden is hurt?” He asks, seeing the makeshift bandage on Raiden’s leg. Raiden nods, picking him up to hold him.

“Yes, but I will be fine, little one.” He assures with a kind smile before it takes a 180 when he looks at the two monks with a glare.

“Why, for the love of the Elder Gods, is Jin here in Outworld?” He asks through gritted teeth, Rei and Khameleon stepping away at the tone of his voice. Kung Lao looks defensive.   
  
“You rather I leave him with my aunt and uncle, who couldn’t even protect him from the Tarkata horde that took most of the other monks?” He asks. “I feel he would be safer with me and Liu Kang. Liu Kang’s practically a Fire God with those gauntlets!” 

“No, he’s a living nuke with those gauntlets. Anything in the Dragon’s Fire category in Purgatory is part of the Destruction Archetype of the Fire Element. Be thankful Mom didn’t give him the matching spellbook.” Rei corrects, “We would all be fucked if he had access to it.” 

“Now I kind of want it.” Liu Kang jokes, Rei glaring at him. 

“Dream on, dummy.” 

“Are you two needing a place to stay for the night too?” Khameleon asks, “I can get you rooms here if you like?” 

Kung Lao and Liu Kang look at each other and nod.

“That would be lovely. Plus we wish to hear of your little adventure so far.” Liu Kang says with a nod. Jin looks happy, hugging Raiden, who smiles back at the boy’s innocence. 

“And I would like to keep an eye on Kung Jin for the night.” He adds, “I know most everyone in Sun Do is friendly, but I refuse to take chances.” 

“Aww~” Rei cooes, “Raiden has a Papa Wolf side~”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Liu Kang grins, “Raiden raised me and Kung Lao. He’s practically our father.” 

“They’re your kids? Oooh! Raiden, you gotta tell me stories!” Rei clapped her hands, looking eager to hear stories of Raiden raising the two monks. 

Raiden beams with pride and joy at both comments. Rei sees this and her smile grows more. Raiden was too cute when he is happy.

~*~*~*~*~

Back where we left off, we see Ermac collapsing to the floor as Sub-Zero was 

"I remain whole, for now." He remarked, not noticing that Jax had passed out due to the blood loss and pain and Sonya speaking into her communicator.

"Sonya Blade to Command. Sonya Blade to Command. Do you read? Sonya Blade to Command. Do you read?" She tried to get a response, but none came.

Sub-Zero walked over to join the two. "You have stopped the bleeding." He noticed.

"Yeah, but he needs a medic as soon as possible." said Sonya.

"I must go to the Coliseum." said Sub-Zero, ignoring Sonya's comment. Said woman looked at him.

"But I need your help to get him t-"

"There is a portal to the south. You can use it to transport yourselves back to Earthrealm." He advised before walking off, leaving Sonya by herself.

"Motherf..." She cut herself off from finishing that comment before musing.

"That portal better be close..." She picks up Jax's motionless body and carries him off. Sub-Zero rushes for the Coliseum, not stopping for anything. He passes by the man in pink from earlier, who was leaning against a tree napping soundly and looking calm. The assassin thought it was quite strange for someone to be out here and asleep or why a man would willingly wear that shade of pink, but he didn’t have time to figure it out either, the Coliseum up ahead. 

In the Coliseum, where Kitana is fighting a Shaolin monk, with Shao Khan and all his subordinates watching. Sub-Zero arrives just in time to see Kitana knock the monk to the ground. She readies her bladed fan for the killing blow, but hesitates.

"I have failed." The monk spoke as he was on his knees, "I deserve death."

Kitana remains still, her earlier words to Liu Kang echoing in her mind. 

_ "I have failed my father. You must kill me." _

"Kill him!" Shao Khan demanded, bring Kitana back into reality. She looks over to her father. The Khan growled impatiently and blasts the monk with a burst of green magic.

"Kitana! You will join me." He ordered. The blue assassin takes her place at Shao Khan's side as a Tarkatan carries away the monk's charred body. Sub-Zero then walks up to the throne.

"Shao Khan! I challenge Scorpion, the murderer of my brother!" Sub-Zero demanded, "You will bring him before me!"

"No one makes demands of the emperor!" Shao Khan boomed, "Reptile!"

The Zaterrean assassin faces Sub-Zero and assumes a fighting stances, growling expectantly. Sub-Zero was silent as he threw the first punch. Even with his reptilian speed and special abilities, Reptile is no match for the skill and powers of Sub-Zero. The Lin Kuei soon has the Outworld servant defeated on the ground.

"I would kill you, but that is not my purpose here." He noted, watching as Reptile rolls away. He faced the emperor again.

"Your followers hold you in high esteem, warlord. They fight and die for your amusement. My brother participated in this folly. I do so only to face his killer!" He spoke.

Shao Khan looked rather amused. "And you shall." He spoke. Quan Chi clenches a fist that glows with green energy. A moment later, Scorpion appears in a flash of hell fire. After looking around, he sees Sub-Zero and scowls.

"What is this? You are not Sub-Zero." He noted.

"I am his family and clan. I fight for his honor." Sub-Zero shot back.

If Scorpion could laugh, he would. "He had no honor! And you will die as he did!"

They fight. The battle is even more visceral and bloody than when the elder Sub-Zero fought Scorpion. Unprepared for the increased power of the younger's ice attacks, the hellspawn specter finds himself at the disadvantage and Sub-Zero mercilessly presses the attack. After a hard fought battle, Sub-Zero finally knocks Scorpion to the ground.

"For my brother!" Sub-Zero declared, but as he prepared to finish Scorpion off, several Lin Kuei cyborgs teleport into the Coliseum and surround him.

"No! You-"

The cyborgs restrain him with their pulse charges. Scorpion takes the opportunity to teleport away. Cyrax and Sektor teleport in and approach Shao Khan's throne.

"Who now interrupts the emperor's tournament?" asked an annoyed Shang Tsung. It was at that time Azriel, Johnny, and Smoke arrive at the Coliseum. 

_ “Azriel! That’s Bi-Han’s brother! Save him!”  _ Corliss spoke up, Azriel rushing forward immediately. 

“BUCKLE UP, BUCKETHEADS!!” She roars as she leaps into the air. With a chant of something in a language no one in the Coliseum knew, she slam dunks a large blast of energy into the Coliseum, a explosion of magic blinding everyone but Johnny, whose sunglasses actually came in handy for once, as he was able to see Sektor and Cyrax teleporting away a second before the blast hit the ground. Once the dust dissipates, Sub-Zero is unharmed, but the cyborgs around them were nothing but dust in the wind. Before Sub-Zero could start to comprehend what just happened, Azriel scoops him up from the ground and rushes back to Smoke and Johnny. 

“You can thank me later, hun~” Azriel says with a smile as she puts him down. Smoke looks so grateful to her, but was more focused on ensuring his friend was ok. Azriel, turns to Shao Kahn with a rather displeased look. 

“Can’t even control your own tournament. For fucking shame, man! Onaga got poisoned by this motherfucker? He’s rolling in his grave right now!” Azriel taunts. 

“Why don’t you fight me yourself, Elder God?!” Shao Kahn says, smacking the armrest of his throne and getting up, “I’ll be more than happy to shut you up!!” 

“You think I would, but naaaaah.” Azriel grins, looking devious, “It’s not *my* part to fight you. Someone else has that honor, and I’m not gonna be a bitch and take it from them. So why don’t you sit your royal butt back down and be a good little Emperor, or else I’ll just go “fuck it” and blow this realm to pieces just like I did with Uekyuu.” 

Shao Kahn thinks it over before sitting back down, grumbling something to himself. Azriel chuckles happily, satisfied.

_ “Good call.”  _ Corliss adds.

“I...what…” Sub-Zero was slowly coming out of his stupor, just looking around at everything. Smoke gets his attention by waving a hand over his face. When that didn’t work, Azriel decided to drop the bombshell.

“Oh, by the way: Sub-Zero, your brother’s fine. He’s with my daughter and Raiden for a task.” She tells him. Both Sub-Zero and Smoke look so relieved to hear that news. Johnny looks rather surprised, but smiles at the good news as well.

“That is such wonderful news, Great One. We were sure he was dead.” Sub-Zero bows to her, “When will they return?”

“After they’ve bombed the Soul Tombs for me. Shouldn’t be much longer.” She assures him. 

As this was going on, Kitana looked ready to sneak attack them, but was stopped by Shao Kahn calling out to her. 

“Kitana! How is it that Earthrealm ninjas brazenly appear before me when my daughter, Princess of Outworld, was sent to intercept them?" He asked in a angered tone. 

Kitana looks a bit disheartened. “Father, I-”

“Begone!” the Emperor ordered. She looks saddened by this, leaving the Coliseum. Shao Kahn turns to Shang Tsung.

“Go to the Soul Tombs. Stop them from destroying it through any means necessary.” He orders, “I don’t know what Azriel is planning, but I refuse to let her win a Mortal Kombat tournament ever again.” He ordered. Shang Tsung nods before he leaves as well. 

Back with our ragtag group of heroes, Azriel sees Kitana walking away and has an idea. 

“Alright my pretties, listen up.” Azriel faces the three Earthrealmers with her, “Kitana’s faith in ol’ Shao Kahn here is dwindling quickly. We need to try and sway her to our side so we have more manpower to curbstomp Outworld.” 

“I assume we’re gonna follow her then?” asks Sub-Zero. 

“Bingo, Blueberry!” Azriel says, Sub-Zero blushing under his mask at being called such a thing, “Let’s go before we lose sight of her!!” She skips off, Johnny rushing to follow her. Sub-Zero looks at Smoke with a “wtf” look. Smoke just shrugs.

“At least she’s on our side….?”


	13. Rei & Raiden's Bizarre Adventure Pt: 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Fallout has taken up most of my time for this one. Fasnacht Day and I'm trying to get as much as I can. Luckily I was able to finish this chapter last night, but had to do a few touch ups. Enjoy!

“Oh no!”

The trio had finally arrived at Khameleon’s treetop home, only to find it ransacked. Smashed vases and ruined medical supplies littered the floors, and there were blood splatters everywhere. A corpse of a Outworlder man was covering some sort of chest, as if to protect it. On the corpse’s back was dozens of arrows and daggers. Khameleon looks very upset as she and Rei help Raiden in.

“They ruined my home!” She says in sorrow, “Those beasts!”

“Damn, they tore up the place.” Rei looks around, getting Raiden to the bed so he could sit down. Raiden gives her a thankful nod as he straightens out his injured leg, groaning a bit.

Khameleon was picking through the ruined supplies, looking for something salvageable while Rei gets the vase shards up from the floor to toss out of the hut. After a few minutes, Khameleon sighs in defeat.

“All of it’s ruined… Nothing can be used, not even my extra healing salves… I can’t help with your leg, Raiden…” She apologizes.

Raiden shook his head. “It is alright, Khameleon. I can manage. However…” He looks over at the corpse covering something.

“What is under that body?”

Rei sees it too, going over to it. Khameleon joins her, and the two throw the body off of whatever it was covering. It was an unopened crate along with a bloodied note written in a language Rei couldn’t understand, but Khameleon could as she picks it up, reading it aloud.

_“This is the last crate of supplies we can send, the Emperor and his Tarkatan forces of gotten wind of our new trade route, and we can’t risk anymore of our messengers’ lives. If they know of this trade route, everyone in the Treetops is in mortal danger. If any of the survivors are wanting refuge, they must come to Sun Do immediately. We have the Siren to protect us now. Anyone that stays will perish at the Emperor’s hand. - Li Mei”_

“T-That explains the guards and why everything looks ransacked…” Khameleon says, tossing the note aside to open the crate. In it was some fruit and cooked meat that was still fresh, along with medical supplies. The freshness of the food made her more pale than she already was.

This all happened recently.

“Hey, you ok?” Rei asks her, noticing her expression, “What’s in the crate?”

“I-I…” She shook her head, closing the crate up and picking it up.

“We can’t stay here. I know why those guards were here now, and more may be on the way if we don’t leave now.” She says, “I know Raiden is a God and you’re probably one too from the looks of it, but he’s injured and I’m not risking anything.”

“What? We just got here!” Rei says, Raiden looking confused as well.

“The food in this crate is still fresh, which meant this destruction happened recently. There may be more guards on the way, and we can’t risk staying here.” The Saurian answers, “We need to get to Sun Do. I have enough Koins to get us some rooms at the inn there for the night. I can treat Raiden’s knee there.”

“Fair enough. I do not want to abuse my powers here.” Raiden nods.

“But you have Mom’s amulet.” Rei notes, “You’re powered up here instead of being weakened.”

“I prefer hand to hand kombat over use of my powers most of the time.” Raiden gets up, growling in pain as he had to use his injured leg to do so. Rei goes over to help him stay up and get the weight off his bad leg. Raiden looks at her curiously.

“I can fly you know.”

“Flying everywhere is the lazy way. Plus we need to follow Kammie so she can lead us out of here.”

“Kammie?”

“Khameleon.”

Raiden just blinks. Khameleon giggles at her new nickname.

~*~*~*~*~

It took awhile for them to leave the treetops and get out of the forest due to Raiden’s injury. Despite him protesting that he could just fly there, Rei wasn’t having it, making him accept her help. Khameleon thought it was rather funny, giggling the entire time. Currently, there are walking down a road towards a village on the coastline, a bit of fog in the air.

“We’re almost at Sun Do, my friends!” Khameleon beams, “We can finally treat your leg and get some proper rest.”

“Took long enough.” Rei says, still holding Raiden up, “Raiden’s a fucking lead weight on my shoulder.”

“You were the one who insisted to assist me despite my protesting, so kindly suffer.” Raiden shot back at her, Rei almost letting him go then and there. He zaps her in response, Rei yelping loudly.

“Play nice, children!” Khameleon says as she heard it.

“We are not children!” Both deities corrected, Khameleon laughing.

“Then stop acting like it!”

“I’m trying to rest here!” Bi-Han was heard yelling from Rei’s gem, Rei smacking it in response, getting a surprised yelp from him back in return. She just grins in response.

“Khameleon!!”

The Saurian looks up ahead to see someone waving at her from the village gates. It was woman in purple, smiling. Khameleon looks happy.

“Li Mei!” She rushes over,setting the crate down and giving the woman a hug happily. Raiden and Rei just blink, slowly joining them.

“I was getting worried that you perished in the Treetop Massacre. Only a few people managed to escape.” Li Mei explains. She sees Raiden and Rei behind her, along with Raiden’s injured leg.

“Sup.” Rei waves, “Ain’t polite to stare.”

“Raiden? Is that you?” Li Mei asks, Raiden nodding.

“Yes, it is I. I am assuming the outfit threw you off?”

“Yes. Never seen you dress in such a way.”

“It is a long story…”

Khameleon picks up the crate again, turning to Li Mei. “Where’s the inn again? It’s been so long since I’ve been here.”

“It’s over this way, let me take you to it.” Li Mei offers, urging them to follow her. Bi-Han comes out of Rei’s gem, grumbling quietly in Chinese as he decides to make Raiden’s hat his perch. Raiden is greeted by some of the villagers, the Thunder God giving them nods of acknowledgement as he passed by. Rei is rather curious of why any Outworlder would acknowledge Raiden positively, but that got answered by Corliss.

 _“Seems like Raiden’s got supporters here in Outworld too. Go figure. Then again, Bo Rai Cho, an ally of his, is from Outworld. Possible good reputation by association?”_ Corliss muses, Rei rolling her eyes in response. They are approaching a large building, writing on a sign above it that Rei couldn’t understand either, but by the looks of it, this was indeed the Inn. Li Mei had went in first, but before Khameleon, Rei, and Raiden could go in...

“Raiden!”

Raiden turns to see Liu Kang running up to him, Kung Lao following with Jin. Raiden looks happy to see the two monks alright, but at the sight of Jin, one of his eyes twitched. Rei didn’t see this, however.

“Hello, it is a welcome sight to see you and Kung Lao unharmed.” he says with a smile.

“Too bad Raiden took an arrow to the knee.” Rei says, “Kammie got it healed the best she could, but he’s not gonna be able to put any weight on it until we get back to Mom and the others.”

“Who is Kammie?” Kung Lao asks, Jin staying close to him.

“Me!” Khameleon says with a wave, “I’m Khameleon, but Rei calls me Kammie for short.”

Kung Lao and Liu Kang greet her with a bow. Jin runs up to Raiden.

“Uncle Raiden is hurt?” He asks, seeing the makeshift bandage on Raiden’s leg. Raiden nods, picking him up to hold him.

“Yes, but I will be fine, little one.” He assures with a kind smile before it takes a 180 when he looks at the two monks with a glare.

“Why, for the love of the Elder Gods, is Jin here in Outworld?” He asks through gritted teeth, Rei and Khameleon stepping away at the tone of his voice. Kung Lao looks defensive.  
  
“You rather I leave him with my aunt and uncle, who couldn’t even protect him from the Tarkata horde that took most of the other monks?” He asks. “I feel he would be safer with me and Liu Kang. Liu Kang’s practically a Fire God with those gauntlets!”

“No, he’s a living nuke with those gauntlets. Anything in the Dragon’s Fire category in Purgatory is part of the Destruction Archetype of the Fire Element. Be thankful Mom didn’t give him the matching spellbook.” Rei corrects, “We would all be fucked if he had access to it.”

“Now I kind of want it.” Liu Kang jokes, Rei glaring at him.

“Dream on, dummy.”

“Are you two needing a place to stay for the night too?” Khameleon asks, “I can get you rooms here if you like?”

Kung Lao and Liu Kang look at each other and nod.

“That would be lovely. Plus we wish to hear of your little adventure so far.” Liu Kang says with a nod. Jin looks happy, hugging Raiden, who smiles back at the boy’s innocence.

“And I would like to keep an eye on Kung Jin for the night.” He adds, “I know most everyone in Sun Do is friendly, but I refuse to take chances.”

“Aww~” Rei cooes, “Raiden has a Papa Wolf side~”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Liu Kang grins, “Raiden raised me and Kung Lao. He’s practically our father.”

“They’re your kids? Oooh! Raiden, you gotta tell me stories!” Rei clapped her hands, looking eager to hear stories of Raiden raising the two monks. Corliss is heard chuckling at this.

 _“You gonna tell him about your boy too, Rei?”_ She asks, but Rei doesn’t answer or seem to acknowledge her.

Raiden beams with pride and joy at both comments. Rei sees this and her smile grows more. Raiden was too cute when he is happy. Li Mei exits from the Inn, curious as to what was going on outside.

“Is everything alright out here?” She asks. Upon noticing three new additions to the group, one being a child, she chuckles.

“More friends?” She added, Raiden nodding.

“More like my sons and nephew.”

~*~*~*~*~

After a few minutes of talking with the Inn owner, Li Mei and Khameleon managed to get them all very good rooms in the inn, possibly the more expensive ones. It most likely was due to Raiden being a God and Jin being with them, but no one really knew. The group was currently in Raiden’s room, Khameleon using the supplies from the crate to tend to his knee. Jin was playing with a toy Li Mei had given him, the boy enjoying himself.

“Doesn’t seem like it hit any major bones or arteries, so you’re super lucky!” Khameleon tells Raiden, who nods.

“That is great news.” He smiles.

“How did this happen?” Liu Kang asks, ignoring as Rei was behind him, starting to braid his hair.

“I was shot with an arrow.” Raiden says, “We were heading to Khameleon’s treetop hut and got ambushed.”

“It was more painful watching her push it all the way through.” Rei adds, using a brush made of shadows to start parting Liu Kang’s hair, “I can’t even bear watching someone doing it.”

“Squeamish, much?” Kung Lao jokes, Rei glaring at him while Liu Kang chuckles. Raiden chuckles as well, watching Khameleon clean the wound thoroughly before using a healing salve on it and wrapping his knee in a new bandage.

“There. Try not to move it too much, ok?” Khameleon advises, “The salve should take effect soon, it’s a secret mixture my father taught me long ago.”

Raiden nods, Khameleon gathering the supplies and putting them into a shoulder bag Li Mei gave her earlier. That made Rei remember her backpack, using her free hand to grab it.

“Hey Liu, can you look into this for me?” Rei asks him, “I gotta focus on making your hair pretty~”

Liu Kang nods, taking it from her. Bi-Han flutters to sit on his shoulder as he opens the backpack, a burst of confetti coming out it, along with a scroll, startling everyone. Liu Kang just blinks, speechless as Kung Lao picks up the scroll. Rei just rolls her eyes.

“Typical of Mom to do that.”

“What does the scroll say?” Raiden asks, curious. Kung Lao opens the scroll, looking confused.

“I can’t read it. It’s in some strange language…” He turns it around to show the contents of the scroll, which were bullet pointed things written in a strange language. Rei blinks.

“That’s Asalian, I’ll translate.” Rei says, taking a second to look it over. Everyone waits patiently, Liu Kang reaching into the bag and feeling something round with the texture of sand within. Slowly, he pulls the item out in question: a red and black orb that resembled a bath bomb, but the red swirls on it glowed with a strange energy. He tilts his head, confused.

“What is this…?” He asks, Rei looking up from the scroll, she gasps and snatches it from his hand.

“BODY TIME!!” She yells before slamming it on the ground, an explosion of red and black smoke enveloping the room. There was a lot of coughing for a bit until it dissipated, Rei grinning as she stares at something.

“What the hell was that for?” Liu Kang asks.

“Hi new person!” Jin waves where Rei was staring. All heads turn to that direction, Kung Lao and Liu Kang both looking shocked.

“Sub-Zero?!” Both yell.

Now standing up in the middle of the room was a dazed Bi-Han, now an Asali like Rei. His eyes were black and dark blue, and he was in the clothes he had died in. He nearly fell to the ground, but caught himself. He looks just as startled the monks as he notices he does have a humanoid body again, but seems confused when he sees his now white skin.

“Remind me to thank Mom for that later. That was a Instametamorpher Orb!” Rei giggles, “Instantly lets Spectrites skip the incubation process and be reborn as an Asali immediately! They are extremely rare to have in my realm.”

“I…. w-what…?” Bi-Han goes over to a nearby mirror to look himself over. Rei gets up and walks over to him.

“Hmm, Dark Blue and Black Code.” She says, Bi-Han looking at her weirdly.

“What?”  
  
“Oh! In Purgatory, we have Color Codes. It dictates what color our eyes, hair, navel gem, and blood color will be. Your Color Code is Dark Blue and Black.”

Bi-Han removes his cowl and mask, revealing that he had rather long hair that was kept in a pony tail and a beard. His beard was solid black, but his hair had a dark blue skunk stripe going through it. He looks rather intrigued.

“O-Oh… Do I still have my powers in this form as well?” He asks. Before Rei could answer, she was hit with an ice ball, flash freezing her. All but Raiden laugh at that, Raiden just smiling a bit while shaking his head. Bi-Han looks proud of himself.

“Now that is very good to know.”

~*~*~*~*~

After Rei was thawed up and recovered from the sudden flash freezing, the the group was now outside on the beach close to the village around a large fire that Li Mei had got burning. It was night time now, and torches and lanterns lit up the area. Many villagers were still out and about, some that were nearby talking about the village protector and why they weren’t back yet.

“Who is this village protector everyone keeps talking about?” Khameleon asks Li Mei, who was watching the waves nearby, “And who is this Siren you wrote about in the letter?”

Li Mei doesn’t turn to her as she answers, “A few months ago, there was a Siren that came to our village seeking shelter from Shao Kahn. Apparently they had angered the Khan somehow and now they’re wanted. In exchange for shelter, he keeps our village safe from the Tarkatan Forces. But… he’s known to be rather lazy, and tends to wander off when he’s born.”

“Wait, aren’t Sirens supposed to be female only?” Bi-Han asks. Li Mei just shrugs.

“Apparently, he was a first from what he tells us. He’s half-Edenian, half-Siren.” She responds. When she was about to speak again, she sees the Siren in question coming down onto the beach. It was the man in pink again, and he is greeted by the villagers happily. Li Mei waves to get his attention, the man seeing this and coming over.

“Welcome back, we were starting to get worried.”

“Ah, you all shouldn’t worry about me. I can handle myself.” the man speaks, “I had a hell of a day…”

“We have new friends of Earthrealm.” Li Mei points to the group. The man sees them, waving.

“Hello, Earthrealmers. Name’s Lyrika.” He introduced himself, “Resident Siren and the first male one born ever.”

“Henlo.” Rei greets, Raiden looking at her weirdly for her rather strange greeting, as did Khameleon, but neither question it, assuming it was just how Asali say hello.

“Hi pink guy!” Jin greeted happily, Kung Kao chuckling at Jin’s friendliness.

“Raiden, right?” Lyrika asks, looking at Raiden’s direction, “Heard about ya during my travels. Apparently you’re super important or something.”

“Have you not heard of me?” Raiden looks slightly annoyed. Everyone in Outworld had to hear of him at one point during the whole Mortal Kombat tournament fiasco. Lyrika shrugs.

“Not really. I never bothered with learning about other realms or politics. I prefer entertaining others.” He answers, “Stress free and don’t have to worry about getting my head cut off by some psychotic princess.”

“Oooh, an exotic dancer basically?” Rei asks, very interested. Lyrika chuckles a bit at such a comparison.

“You could say that.” He stretches a bit, “I just like to entertain the villagers here. They give me refuge, after all. Anyways…” He turns back to Raiden, head tilted.

“Heard around the grapevine you’re on some sort of mission. Mind if I be nosy and ask what it is? Probably can lend a hand or something if it involves getting the Emperor off my back.”

“Why would you wish to know? I barely know you.” Raiden says, looking annoyed. Lyrika didn’t back down.

“Cause I know Outworld like the back of my hand and know a lot of the more secret tombs and krypts Shao Kahn has his treasures and stuff sealed in. I loot them and sell the stuff for Koins.” He answers without missing a beat.

“Wait, do you know where the Soul Tombs are?” Rei asks, cutting Raiden off before he can speak again, “My mom sent me and Raiden on a mission to blow the place up.”

“You’re going to blow up the Soul Tombs?” Khameleon gasps, “But why?”

Rei and Raiden both shrug. Bi-Han was too busy entertaining Jin by creating snowflakes to hear that, Jin loving being able to play with snow this early. Kung Lao and Liu Kang look just as confused as her.

“We don’t even know why she wants to blow them up, and we weren’t sent on that mission.” Kung Lao answers, “We got sent to save our elders that were taken from our realm to here to be held hostage.”

Lyrika looks deep in thought, humming a bit. “I do actually, but going there is quite risky. There’s guards and traps everywhere, and I heard rumors that there’s maybe Hellbeasts deep within, but I can’t confirm that. Never really got too deep in there. Mainly just stayed on the upper levels to loot gold and rare artifacts.”

“We can hold our own.” Raiden assures, “There is nothing two Gods cannot handle.”

“Two Gods?” Lyrika asks, looking around, “I don’t see any other Gods here.”  
  
“HELLO?!” Rei shouts, pointing to herself and the amulet she had. Lyrika raises a brow.

“You’re a God? Wearing that?”

He barely dodges Rei’s shadow needles that was thrown at him in response. Kung Lao seems to perk up as he remembers something, turning to the Asali.

"Hey Rei, what was on that scroll?" 

Rei gasps as she remembers, getting it out. All turn to her as she opens it up, showing them the contents of it. "This scroll has spells on it, very powerful ones at that. Most of the Dark Element. The three spells on it are Shadow Mimic, Shadow Plague, and Dark Vision. Shadow Mimic..." Rei reaches down, and literally grabs a chunk of Raiden's shadow out, Raiden shuddering in discomfort at the sudden feeling of something being taken from him. She absorbs it into her own, and within seconds, her body is crackling with purplish-black electricity.

"...lets me use the powers of others by snatching a piece of their shadow." She says, making a current of electricity between her hands, "However, it's converted to be both Dark and whatever Element it originally was. It only lasts for a few hours though, so it's not permanent. " She gives Raiden a good jolt, the Thunder God yelping in shock and the others chuckling at that. 

"A-At least next time, ask!" Raiden glares at her, Rei just blowing a rasp in his direction. 

"Dark Vision is simple." She goes over to Liu Kang, making him close his eyes. He does as told, and Rei just taps both of them gently with a glowing hand. "Open them and tell me what you see." 

Liu Kang opens his eyes, and he suddenly can see everything around him, including the places not lit up by torches and fires, as if it was daytime still. He looks amazed. "Everything is so clear! I see everything!" 

"Dark Vision pretty much is self explanatory: lets anyone not of the Dark element see in the dark as if it was daytime. Very handy and lasts as long as needed." She grins.

"That explains why my vision got so much better." Bi-Han spoke up, Rei grinning.

"Guess we now know your Element Classes too: Ice/Dark." She notes, Bi-Han tilting his head for a second. 

"What?"

"I'll explain that later. It's a mouthful, but for a short version: you can use powers and magic from both the Ice and Dark Elements." Rei says, Bi-Han still looking confused but just shrugging and going with it, returning to making miniature snowmen with Jin. 

"Well, can't you give us all Dark Vision then? It would be very helpful." Khameleon asks, "We would be able to see enemies coming despite the darkness. They wouldn't be able to hide from us anymore!" 

"I could, but ya gotta ask nicely." Rei smirks. Raiden has taken the scroll now and looking at it. The way the Asalian language was written looked very elegant, and seemed to have very loose connections with how the Enochian language was written. It intrigued him quite a bit. Rei snatches it back from him, startling him a bit. 

"Now... I would show off the last spell, but... it's too dangerous." Rei explains, "Shadow Plague is... how to say it... let's just say Shadow Plague has nothing to do with sickness or disease and more to do with mind control..." 

"Sounds fun." Lyrika chuckles, "I can mind control people too, but I gotta sing without my veil on to do it." 

Rei shook her head. "Yours isn't on the scale that Shadow Plague can achieve. Shadow Plague can go global if left unchecked. While I can do it, I refuse to do so. And no, I'm not teaching it to you, Bi-Han."

The former Lin Kuei snaps his fingers in disappointment, everyone laughing at that. Rei just smiles, holding a glowing hand up and giving the peace sign.

"So, who wants Dark Vision?" 

~*~*~*~*~

After some more time outside and getting Dark Vision from Rei, everyone had went back into the inn for the night to get some much needed rest. Raiden was still awake, testing the limits of his newfound Dark Vision by looking out the window and into the distance. He could see many things, such as birds flying and creatures of the night out on the prowl, hunting for their next meal. He could see the lit up city of Lei Chen in the distance as well, being able to identify some buildings. And since as far as he knew that that was permanent, no one will be getting away from him anytime soon. 

Knocking on his door made him turn his attention away from the window and to it. "Come in." He says loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear it, but also quiet enough to not disturb the other tenants. The door is opened, and in walks Rei, carrying the backpack with her.

"Hey there, didn't think you would still be up." She says, shutting the door behind her, "Just wanted to see how you're enjoying the Dark Vision." 

"Very well. I can see Lei Chen from here." Raiden answers, turning back to look out the window. Rei joins him, looking out the direction he was looking at. 

"That one place in the distance with the walls and huge palace? That's Lei Chen?"

"Yes." 

"Cool." 

Raiden chuckles. "I thank you for this little gift. It will make exploring dark areas much better. You did say it lasts as long as needed, right?"

"Yeah, Dark Vision is a permanent spell." Rei confirms with a nod, "It's one of the rare ones that don't take much magic to use at all either. Only way to get rid of it is to use the spell again. It's super handy!"  

"That is very good to know." Raiden nods. Rei just grins before zapping him again, making him yelp, "Stop that!" 

"Why? It's fun watching you react to your powers being used against you." The Asali says with a sweet, but devious smile. Raiden rolls his eyes. At least it was temporary as she stated earlier. He glances at the backpack in her hand.

"Is there more stuff in there we don't know of yet?"

"Yeah, figured I'd see what else was in it besides the scroll and that orb. Still heavy." 

She goes over and sits on the bed, opening the bag up and peering into it. First thing she pulls out was the bomb Azriel gave them, setting it aside. Raiden immediately goes to hold it, not risking it becoming active if it hit the floor. She reaches into it, feeling around until she felt something, blinking.

"Two things: firstly, this seems to be one of those endless holding bags." She says, Raiden looking very curious. 

"How so?" 

"Cause number two is this." She pulls out a full sized bostaff from it, Raiden now looking more surprised than curious now. The staff looked like something he would use due to the design of it. Rei looks it over.

"Not exactly something I would use. I prefer explosive or bladed weapons over staffs... This might be meant for you." She gives it to Raiden, the Thunder God looking it over himself. He twirls it around with flawless execution, trying to get a good feel of it. Rei looks impressed by the display, clapping quietly and giggling. Raiden looks very pleased with the results.

"It feels nice in my hand and it isn't too heavy. This might be meant for me as you say." He confirms, setting it against the wall. Rei reaches in again, digging around. After a few minutes, she finds something, and immediately, she somehow got paler than she already was. Raiden sees this, and looks worried.

"Are you ok?" He asks, concerned. Rei shook her head, gulping.

"I wish I was..." she slowly pulls out a full sized scythe made of thorns, bones, and barbed wire. It looked very deadly, the blade looking sharp enough to cut through anything with ease. The aura it gave off unnerved both of them, Rei looking very nervous as she held it. 

"T-The Soul Taker..."


	14. Such a Lovely Color For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting spicy. Or semi-spicy, I dunno sometimes. Also, kudos to anyone who can figure out where the chapter title came from. Hope y'all enjoy as always.
> 
> Free Hint: It's a song lyric.

“Um…. Azriel? I may have fucked up.”

Corliss had two screens up on her monitor: one of Rei and Raiden as the Asali was setting the Soul Taker on the bed and she and Raiden backing away very slowly from it, both looking incredibly nervous, and the other being Azriel as she was sitting on the roof of the building where she and the Earthrealmers with her were staying for the night. There was a third screen up, and on it, it said:   


_ Item: Soul Taker _

_ Item Description: A scythe capable of cutting through anything with ease. All souls cleaved by this scythe are absorbed into it, further enhancing it’s deadly abilities. Only to be used by those who can withstand the deadly aura it gives off. _

_ Spawn Location: Bag of Endless Tricks _

_ “What did you do this time?”  _ Azriel asks, sounding more amused than annoyed, knowing Corliss was sometimes a bit clumsy with her work. Corliss lets out a nervous chuckle. 

“I… may have messed up where I had the Soul Taker was supposed to appear for you…” she mumbles, “I meant to have it spawn right at your location, but I think I kinda spaced out when I was putting the location in…” 

_ “This is why I told you to have a personal assistant to serve you coffee and energy drinks at all times, dear.”  _ Azriel chuckles, pulling another Delta Pulse Bomb out of nowhere, messing with it,  _ “Where did it spawn at then?”  _

“Rei has it. She and Raiden look like they’re about to shit bricks at the moment.” 

Azriel snorts loudly before laughing hard, nearly dropping the bomb in her hand.  _ “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see that footage! Save it for me!”  _

“Got it. Are you going to go get it? You said you needed it and I don’t think either of the Gods wants to be near it for any longer.” 

_ “I might just do that, but first, let me go drop my hot mixtape on one of Arnyek’s islands.”  _

“Might wanna drop two of them to be on the safe side. Your mixtape is fucking fire and they need to be made sure of this.”

_ “Shit, you right.”  _ Azriel looks like she liked that idea more, Corliss laughing at that.

“I’ll let Rei know you’re coming.” She tells Azriel before closing the monitor on her and focusing on the other one. On it, Rei and Raiden were sitting against the wall on the other side of their room, both just staring at the scythe with unnerved looks. Corliss turns her mic on to hear them talking.

_ “-anta. She killed our God of Life once she knew the shit he was pulling. That scythe is that deadly.”  _ Rei had finished up a story she was telling Raiden. Raiden looked a bit disturbed by that story, but says nothing. Corliss chuckles, speaking into the mic.

“Heads up, Rei. Azriel’s coming for the Soul Taker. You weren’t meant to get it.” She tells Rei, Rei looking a bit relieved at hearing that, “That would be a little sleep deprived fuck up of mine.” 

Not a few seconds after Corliss finished that, there was the sound of a faint explosion, the ground rocking a bit beneath the inn the two Gods were in. Both looked stunned, rushing to look out the window. Corliss pulls up Azriel’s monitor to find her floating above the sea a good distance away from a few small islands. Two of the smaller ones were up in flames and smoke, and another one seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, almost as if covered in glitter. Azriel looks delighted.

_ “You were right, Lissy! They loved it!!”  _ Azriel beams happily, Corliss laughing very hard as she swapped screens back to the Sun Do Inn one. 

_ “What was that?!”  _

_ “I do not know, but I have a feeling your mother had something to do with it.” _

_ “Oh Gods damn it, did she actually drop a nuke on Arnyek like she told me she was gonna do?” _

_ “She did WHAT?!”  _

_ “For the record, that was not a nuke: that was my hot mixtape.”  _ Azriel corrects as she appears, floating upside down and nearly giving Raiden another heart attack and startling Rei enough that she fell down in shock. She chuckles, coming in through the window and helping Rei up.

_ “Sorry about that, darlings.”  _ She apologizes,  _ “A little birdie told me that you have something I want that probably shouldn’t be in your possessions!”  _

_ “Oh thank Ramos…”  _ Rei looks relieved,  _ “Please get that scythe away from us!!”  _

_ “Y-Yes, please. That scythe is beyond cursed…”  _ Raiden adds. Azriel chuckles as she comes into the room through the window, picking the Soul Taker up. It seemed to resize itself to better fit Azriel’s height, Azriel looking delighted. 

_ “It’s not cursed per se… it’s just a tool of pure death and that’s how I intended it to be when I forged it.”  _ Azriel gave it a swing, and it seemed the very air it touched was cleaved in half, Rei and Raiden yelping at the sight, both looking more nervous. Corliss giggles at the sight. It was fun seeing Raiden get disturbed out or freaked out by Azriel’s actions.

_ “Don’t swing that thing in here!!”  _ Rei scolds her, Azriel chuckling. The Elder God sees Raiden’s injured knee, raising a brow.

_ “Arrow to the knee?” _

_ “Arrow to the knee.”  _

_ “Ah. Let me fix that for you.”  _ Azriel stands the scythe up with her magic and goes over to Raiden, putting a hand on his injured knee and using her magic to fully heal it. Raiden looks very relieved within a minute, Azriel moving her hand away once it was fully healed. 

_ “So much better, thank you.”  _ Raiden looks very thankful as he gets up, Rei doing the same. Azriel just smiles at him pleasantly.

_ “You’re welcome~ Now, I must return to the others. Do tell Liu Kang and Kung Lao to join up with us in the morning. I already have my plan on how I’m going to royally screw Shao Kahn over.”  _ Azriel beams with a devious giggle,  _ “Please get plenty of rest before you head out to the Soul Tombs tomorrow, ok?”  _

_ “We will, Mom. Now get that fucking scythe out of here.”  _ Rei asks, Raiden nodding in agreement. Azriel just rolls her eyes as she took the scythe and teleports away. Corliss chuckles more, speaking into the mic.

“It’s just a scythe imbued with Necro magic, Rei. It’s not that bad.” She says, Rei mocking her when Raiden wasn’t looking. Corliss just chuckles, kicking back.

~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, we see Kitana and Jade in the Wastelands, both of them seeming to have a deep conversation about something. Or so we thought.

“Is this how you show your loyalty, Jade?”

“Kitana, I-”

“You follow me when I clearly wish to be alone, then you upbraid me? I will not be scolded like some child!”

Jade just shook her head, looking more concerned for Kitana’s well being. “You need to be careful. I have never seen your father this angry with you.” 

Kitana scoffs at that idea, turning to walk away. Jade goes to her to to stop her. 

“You are a princess. He expects more from you than this.” She tells her. Kitana shoves her away.

“I know what he expects!” She looks angry. 

Jade sighs heavily, shaking her head. “We will talk later. When you are of in more of a mind to listen.” She spoke before leaving, heading towards the forest. Kitana just watches her leave, shaking her head. A loud boom was heard, and when Kitana turns around, she sees smoke and glitter surrounding Azriel as she, Johnny, Smoke, and Sub-Zero appeared. Azriel had the Soul Taker in hand, but it didn’t seem to unnerve the three with her. Kitana, however, looked a bit nervous.

“Kitana, honey, might I have a little chat with you? It’s really important.” Azriel asks, not noticing Kitana staring at the scythe. Kitana had a feeling that saying no would result in that scythe being used against her. She just slowly nods, Azriel looking delighted.

“Wonderful! Cause it is of the utmost importance!” She walks up to Kitana with a skip in her step. The trio with Azriel looked very confused as to how Azriel got Kitana to relent so quickly, but seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

“The scythe. It has to be the scythe.” Smoke theorizes, “Look at that thing. The Grand Master would kill thousands just to hold it.”

“I believe the Grand Master would die trying to even get _near_ it.” Sub-Zero corrects, Johnny snorting in amusement.

“I don’t know who your “Grand Master” is, but I would like to think Azriel would just behead him for even thinking about it.” He adds, “From what I’ve seen of her so far, it seems like something she would do.” 

“I can hear you, Johnny, and yes, that is exactly what I would do.” Azriel confirms, Johnny giving a thumbs up. Kitana was still staring at the scythe with a nervous look to say anything else. Azriel turns back to her.

“So, Princess, as I was saying, your dear ol’ daddy is bad news and has got you brainwashed into thinking all he does is the “right thing.” I know you’re a bit conflicted right now, or that could be cause of my little toy here, I don’t know.” Azriel spoke, looking thoughtful. 

“I-It’s a little of both, Great One…” Kitana confirms, but she regains a bit of her composure, “But I will not let even an Elder God change my mind.”

“Bitch, you can flatter me all you want, but you will not stand there and lie to me!” Azriel got sassy, “I know a tiny voice in your head is telling you that you don’t want this, that you would much rather things be different.” She leans the tip of the blade very close to Kitana’s face, Kitana looking like she was having a mini heart attack.

“That  _ you  _ wish to be different.” Azriel pulled the Soul Taker away, Kitana looking relieved, “You’re nothing like Shao Kahn. You remind me more of that one Queen of Edenia whose name I can’t ever remember…”

“Sindel? My mother?” Kitana asks.

Azriel snapped her fingers. “Bingo, her! You remind me of her! What ever happened to her anyways?” 

“She died… committed suicide for a reason I was never told about…” answered Kitana, which made the three Earthrealmers uncomfortable. Azriel just blinks.

“Well shit. If I known that, she would have been granted access to my realm and reborn as one of my darling Asali!” Azriel says, propping herself against the Soul Taker, “I need to leave Purgatory more often…”

_ “I could have told you more about this timeline if you asked, Azriel!”  _ Corliss protests,  _ “And yes, you do need to leave the realm more often. We can use a break from you causing chaos and mayhem every now and then. Callum and Solestia can handle things while you’re gone.”  _

Azriel either heard Corliss and said nothing, or ignored her completely, just rolling her eyes. “Well, while I can’t really help you out there, what I can do is direct you into the right path.” 

_ “Flesh Pits, make her go to the Flesh Pits!”  _ Corliss ordered,  _ “She needs to see Mileena!”  _

“The right path? What are you saying, Elder God?” Kitana asks, looking rather insulted at the mere implication that her current path wasn’t the right one. 

“I’m saying that if you want to take your first step into the right path, you’re gonna have to go to the Flesh Pits.” Azriel answers, Kitana’s eyes widening a bit. 

“The Flesh Pits? I’m forbidden to go there…”

“So? I’m forbidden from a lot of things, such as access to explosives, but does that stop me? Hell no!” 

“Who in the right mind let YOU have explosives?!”

“Shut up, Johnny.” 

Kitana just looks more confused and concerned, but remains silent as Azriel turned back to her.

“Why are you forbidden from setting foot there?” She asks sweetly.

“I do not know that either.” answers Kitana, eying the Soul Taker again nervously, “But… if you say I should go there…”

“Atta girl!” Azriel smiles, “Now run along! And discover what lies within~” 

With that, Azriel back flips backwards with the scythe, somehow grabs all three of the Earthrealmers much to their shock, and teleports away in a flash bang of red and black smoke. Kitana just tilts her head, very confused. 

“...what in the name of Shao Kahn just happened?”

~*~*~*~*~   
  
We cut to the Living Forest, where we see Kitana walking through, quiet. She sees a few guards nearby assessing the fallen structure from the treetop village and looking for any survivors. One has picked up what looks to be a bloody arrow, but seems rather curious at the off red color it was. She sees this and stops walking, curious to hear what was going on.

“The blood on this arrow is a darker shade of red… I do not think that’s normal…” The guard says. Two others with the only survivor of the wreckage heard this, the survivor speaking out as he was being put onto a makeshift stretcher carried by two others.

“Raiden was shot in the knee with an arrow before the structure was severed from the tree… Considering that arrow is fully bloody, it is safe to assume one of his two concubines removed it the HARD way…” he says, “That very well may be his blood…” 

“We better keep that arrow then. Shang Tsung might have use for it, he’s always eager to do strange things in those Pits he stays in.” Another guard says.

“Oh sweet Elder Gods, who knows what he’ll make with Raiden’s blood down there?” the survivor says, all the guards laughing at that. Kitana has a concerned and curious look now. Shang Tsung was always there whenever he wasn’t serving Shao Kahn, and this just made Kitana wonder exactly what the sorcerer was doing down there. She had to know now. She  quickly walked away, going deeper into the forest and hoping they didn’t notice her. Once she got deep enough, she got a feeling that she was being watched, looking around. She frowns, knowing only one person would be responsible for this.

“Show yourself, Jade. I know you’re following me. Again.”

“Following you still.” Jade says, coming out from behind a tree nearby, walking up to Kitana, “I know where you’re going, and I am ordered to prevent you from going there.” 

Kitana looks upset. “And why is that?”

“I do not question the emperor’s commands.” Jade looks at Kitana with pleading eyes. 

“Kitana, please… Turn back.”

Kitana looks defiant, shaking her head. “I cannot. This path might lead me to the truth, and I dare not risk angering an Elder God with a scythe that looks like it was made from Death itself. I’m sorry, Jade…” With swift movement, she has her fans out.

“But I will not allow you to stop me.”

As that fight started, the guards walked by with the survivor on the stretcher, quietly ignoring the fight next to them. The two Edenians didn’t notice them pass by at all, too busy trying to knock each other out. While Jade was very agile and athletic, Kitana’s skill and determination prove to be quite fierce and more worthwhile, and Jade found herself knocked out on the ground at Kitana’s feet. Kitana looked quite upset at what she had to do, but she wasn’t going to let Jade stop her from her objective. 

“I tried to warn you….” she tells her fallen friend, “This is something I have to do…” 

After moving Jade’s body to a safer spot in the forest, she heads towards the Flesh Pits. While it wasn’t too far away, it was still quite a walk. The first thing Kitana notices upon entering is what looked to be spray paint on the walls saying “Azriel was here, Shao Kahn is a loser” and something in a language that Kitana couldn’t understand. The bodies of several dead Tarkatans are scattered about, blood spilled and flesh removed, revealing what organs were still in place and bone. There was several tubes that had been smashed to bits, glass everywhere on the floor and pools of meat and blood on the floor in front of some of them. One of the tubes wasn't smashed, and Kitana walks up to it, curious. The occupant of the tube was naked save for bandages in very strategic places to prevent this fic from becoming a higher rating. Aside from the Tarkatan maw it had, everything else about it heavily resembled Kitana. She’s appropriately disturbed.

“What in the name of…” She backs away from it immediately. She notices a table nearby, and on said table is another one that was identical to the one in the tube. It looked to be resting peacefully. Despite her best judgement, she approached it.

“She… she looks like me!” Kitana looked and sounded horrified. The clone’s eyes immediately open, her eyes having the same ominous look like a Tarkatan’s.

“Sister!” It spoke, as it sat up and got off the table. Kitana backs away, looking disgusted as it comes closer to her.

“So pretty, so fair, so sad and alone…. Come! Let us be a family!!” 

“You are not my family! You are a monstrosity!!” Kitana corrected, “I’d rather risk a beheading by the Elder God than accept you as family!!” 

All that was heard for the next 30 minutes was the sounds of blades, growling, glass breaking, and other things. 

~*~*~*~*~

“Liu, that wasn’t funny!”

“Then why are you laughing about it still?”

“Impromptu Shaolin Soccer with a flaming Tarkatan head in front of Jin is not appropriate! No matter how funny it is!!” 

Liu Kang just looks very smug as they approached the Coliseum, Kung Lao trying to stop his own laughter while Jin just looks confused, riding on Lao’s back piggyback while his older cousin holds his hat. Kung Lao looks very done. 

“I’m just having a little fun. We don’t have to be serious all the time.” Liu Kang reminds him, “Like I don’t complain about you and your rabbits.” 

“Leave my pet rabbits out of this.” Kung Lao threatens, “They don’t hurt anyone and I already apologized at least a 100 times about your shirts getting ruined.” 

Liu Kang stops walking, giving Kung Lao the most deadpan look. “Lao, if I remember correctly, one of them mauled a man’s face off.” 

“That wasn’t true!”

“I saw the whole thing! Kai saw the whole thing! And I’m pretty sure even Raiden saw it even though he was busy eating!” 

“There is no way Raiden saw the whole thing! You know how he is with food!” 

“Boys, please! You’re both pretty!” 

Both monks yelp in surprise as Azriel appears in front of them, Jin giggling and waving at Azriel. Azriel smiles sweetly, taking Jin from Kung Lao’s back to hold him. 

“I’m so happy to see you two back safely! Wasn’t expecting the little one though…” She says as she rocks Jin. 

“Yeah, that’s a long story.” Kung Lao answers, putting his hat back on, “Anyways, Raiden said you needed us back for something?” 

“Oh yes! I’m planning my next little “fuck you” to Shao Kahn and I need all our darling Earthrealmers there to witness it.” Azriel grins, “Trust me, you’ll love it~” 

“Can we get a hint?” Liu Kang asks, looking interested. Azriel thinks for a second.

“...let’s just say loopholes are fun to exploit~” She answers him with a devious look, “And I just hope the other Elder Gods don’t kick my ass for it.”

“Um… please don’t swear around Jin…” Kung Lao sheepishly asks, “I don’t want him using such foul language…”

“Oh tater nuts, I’m sorry!” Azriel apologized, Jin too busy playing with her brooch to care. 

From the entrance to the Coliseum peeked Johnny, who had heard Azriel’s last comment and was grinning. “How the hell did you find out my old elementary school nickname?” He asks jokingly with a grin. 

“Get your butt back in there, Tater Nuts! You’re fighting next!” Azriel orders, heading inside. The two monks follow her, ignoring Johnny’s complaining. Sub-Zero was dragging Smoke away, the grey Lin Kuei having managed to defeat his opponent, one of Shao Kahn’s generals, but did get really hurt in the process. There was two women chained up on the sides of the Emperor’s throne: an Edenian woman in yellow and a Earthrealm woman in red. Both look very pissed at their current situation, but couldn’t really say anything about it least their assumed punishment was worse. Shao Kahn just glares at Azriel’s direction, Azriel waving with her free hand while holding Jin close with her other hand, Jin looking a bit scared. Liu Kang just glares back at the emperor, hands igniting once more and looking eager to get his hands on him. Kung Lao goes over to check on Smoke with Johnny.

“You alright?” He asks, Smoke nodding, taking off his broken mask and tossing it aside.

“Yes, I’m fine. But we have another victory for Earthrealm.” Smoke assures, the monk smiling.

“Good. We’ll win this for sure.”

“No doubt.” 

Kung Lao just smiles before he sees Sub-Zero. He taps Liu Kang on the shoulder and points to him.

“Didn’t we just see him at the inn?” He asks. Liu Kang looks perplexed and goes over to him.

“Weren’t you at the Inn in Sun Do with us, Sub-Zero?” He asks the Cryomancer, Sub-Zero tilting his head.

“No. I have been here the entire time with Azriel. The one you must have seen was my brother if my assumption is correct.” He answers, “Was he with Raiden and the Elder God’s daughter?” 

“Yes, her name is Rei, by the way.” Liu Kang corrects, “Your brother is like her now species wise, but he seems to retain his memories and human appearance, save for a couple of changes…” 

“As long as I know he is still with us, then it matters not his appearance.” Sub-Zero shook his head, “I only hope he will not be angry with me assuming his colors and title…” 

Liu Kang snorts. “Hopefully for your sake.” 

~*~*~*~*~

The Flesh Pits was a mess. 

Kitana finally had her “sister” knocked out, the Princess holding an open fan and looked quite peeved. She stood over the clone.

“Farewell, sister.” She says, but before she could behead the monstrous version of her, she is stopped by a voice.

“That is no way to treat your sibling.” 

Entering the Flesh Pits was Shang Tsung, the sorcerer stepping forward. Kitana held the fan in his direction in a threatening manner.

“Despicable swine! Do you think my father will stand for this… these… abominations you have created here?!” She accuses, “And why you even here? If I was told correctly, you’re supposed to be at the Soul Tombs!!” 

Shang Tsung just smiles, revealing a bloodied arrow and setting it on a table nearby. “I was intercepted by some guards on my way there, and they have given me such a lovely gift. I had to return to start working on my latest masterpiece~”

“Silence!” Kitana had enough, flinging her fan at him. He dodges it, and looks quite annoyed.    
  
“I will drag you to Shao Kahn by your pointed beard!” She proclaims as she charges at him, ready to make good on her claim. 

Shang Tsung’s revitalization did nothing to help him, for hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. At some point during this, the clone had regained consciousness and crawled off to hide somewhere, but neither noticed. Once Shang Tsung was too weak to fight back, Kitana grabs him by his beard, the Sorcerer crying out in pain.

“You will stand before my father and confess your deeds.” She tells him, dragging him out of the Flesh Pits by his beard as promised. For a second, Kitana heard she could hear laughter coming from somewhere, but dismissed it as being the clone’s. She would be dealt with later. 

After a short trip to the Emperor’s throne room, Kitana was standing by as Shang Tsung was on his knees, two Tarkatan Guards next to him. Nearby out of all their views was Jade, watching quietly from her hiding spot as Kitana spoke. Shao Kahn himself looked both bored and annoyed, and if one looked closely at his throne, it too shared the same graffiti that was in the Flesh Pits, along with rather crude drawings. There was a dead Tarkatan nearby, his skull caved in and Shao Kahn’s hammer bloody. One could only assume he had no brain cells and laughed at the graffiti on the throne and paid dearly for it.

“I would not disturb you, father, if this matter were not of the utmost importance. I felt you should know what Shang Tsung has been doing as of late. This conjurer has created horrible replicas of me, crossbred with Tarkatan Blood! One was alive, and attacked me!” Kitana explains, hoping to see that the sorcerer gets the punishment he deserved. 

Shao Kahn looks deep in thought, and a little angry as he gets up from his throne, slowly approaching Shang Tsung. The sorcerer looks nervous, gulping a bit. Shao Kahn looks at Kitana, then at Shang Tsung… before motioning for him to rise.

“Well done, sorcerer.” 

Shang Tsung chuckles, bows his head, and stands up, the two Tarkatan guards backing away. Kitana looks flabbergasted.

“You know… you… approve?!” She looks surprised, “How could you?! My own father!”

“I am your emperor!” Shao Kahn cut her off, “Your father was a weakling Edenian king… I annihilated him while merging his realm with Outworld and took his queen as my wife. If only I had not allowed Sindel to convince me of your worth… But now, I have a true daughter!” 

Kitana just stumbled back a bit, shaking her head. “The Elder God… Azriel was right… You have lied to me my entire life…”

Shao Kahn raises a hand. “Escort her to the Tower. I will make an example of her.” 

The guards not, restraining Kitana despite her best efforts, and taking her away. The emperor turns to Shang Tsung, an annoyed look in his eyes.

“Normally, you would be punished for failing to do as you are told… but for now… bring my my daughter, Mileena.” He demands. 

Shang Tsung nods, but doesn’t leave yet. “Before I do so, I believe I should properly explain my sudden return. I am sure you will be very delighted...” 

As he whispers his latest idea to Shao Kahn, the emperor starting to smile very big at what he hears, Jade is seen peeking from her hiding spot, looking ashamed of herself before she follows them out of everyone’s view.

“I have failed you, Kitana. Now I will make amends.” 


	15. Rei & Raiden's Bizarre Adventure Pt: 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD.
> 
> This is so freaking late, it's unreal. I apologize for the wait! With Mortal Kombat 11 out, most of my time has been spent trying to get the Raiden gear I want. Still don't have three of the hats I want sadly. ^^;
> 
> Regular updates to this fic will be soon, for life's still kicking my ass. And this chapter's a bit short due to slight writer's block, but that'll go away pretty quickly too. Until then, do enjoy.

Mornings in Sun Do were quite peaceful to Li Mei. There was rarely anyone out and about due to the chilly winds and very thick fog, and that was the way she preferred it. She was sitting outside her hut, just watching the waves of the sea roll in and out of the beach, several fishermen that were up at this time were already loading their boats and getting ready to head out to sea. One waves at her, and she waves back with a smile. 

“You’re up early.” 

Li Mei turns to see Lyrika, the siren quiet as he took a seat next to her. “As are you. Are you planning on running off again for the day?”

“Nah.” Lyrika shook his head, “Think I’ll help the Thunder God out. Blowing up the Soul Tombs sounds like a once in a lifetime sight to see, and it’s moments like that that I don’t like missing.” 

“I would join him, but someone has to keep this village running smoothly.” She muses, “We should be fine without you for the day as usual.”

“Those fishermen don’t mess around with those harpoons. I’m sure everyone will be fine.” Lyrika chuckles, adjusting his veil, “I don’t think Raiden’s boys are joining us on our little trip. They left earlier.”

“I didn’t think they would. They had that little boy with them. I hope he’s ok…” Li Mei was cut off as she and Lyrika hear someone shouting.

**_“TOP OF THE MORNING TO YA, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!”_ **

Both flinched at that, looking around. Li Mei caught a glimpse of Rei flying in the air with a smug grin before she was tackled out of the air by Bi-Han, who managed to springboard off a few roofs to pull off said feat. Khameleon and Raiden were watching this from the window of the inn, both looking equally embarrassed, Raiden in particular face palming. She quickly gets up right as she hears a crash from nearby, Lyrika following her. They look around and see some empty crates near an unowned hut were destroyed by the two falling into it. Bi-Han rises first, rubbing his head and groaning as he gets out of the rubble. Rei was laying in the majority of the crushed wood, looking like she got knocked unconscious. Miraculously, her gem was still intact and uncracked. 

“Don’t you have ice powers? Couldn’t you have used them instead of tackling her out of the sky like you’re a Dragonfly Kytinn?” was the first thing out of Lyrika’s mouth for the elder Sub-Zero. 

Bi-Han just frowns at that realization, grumbling something under his breath before answering him. “I haven’t been awake for 10 minutes, coherent thought isn’t something that comes to you in that time frame.” 

The two look over at Rei again, Li Mei trying to shake her awake. Raiden and Khameleon came out of the inn, Raiden holding the backpack and Khameleon wearing a shoulder bag. Raiden glares at Bi-Han, Bi-Han rolling her eyes.

“She’ll be fine. If she can live getting thrown around by a tree, she can live a tackle.” He assures Raiden. 

“Do that again, and I’ll be more than happy to let Fujin know you’re still alive.” Raiden warns, “He is still mad at you.” 

“You can tell your brother that if he wants Round 2, it’s on.” Bi-Han threatened, “But I have already apologized at least twice for my misguidence.” 

Raiden and Bi-Han just glare at each other, Khameleon stepping away from Raiden to be near Lyrika now. Li Mei looks tired of trying to shake Rei awake, so she went with the next best thing… and smacked her HARD in the face. Rei yelps loudly as she woke up, rubbing her now slightly pale purple cheek with an irritated look.

“The fuck was that for?!” She asks, glaring at Li Mei. 

“Good, you’re not dead.” was Li Mei’s response, helping Rei up. Rei groans in pain, putting a hand on her lower back. 

“My back is killing me…” 

“You’ll be fine.”

“No I will not be!” 

“Ladies, no fighting.” Lyrika got in between the two purple clad women, “There will no more violence with me around.” 

Li Mei and Rei just glared at each other for a bit before they calm down. Rei hobbles over to Raiden, using him as a prop to hold herself up. Lyrika glances at Raiden.

“So, do you need my help or not?” He asks, “Or are you gonna be a stubborn mule?” 

Raiden looks insulted by Lyrika’s words, but having little knowledge of the Soul Tombs wasn’t going to help them alone. He sighs heavily.

“Fine… but if you refer to me as a mule again, Elder Gods help you…” He warns, Lyrika chuckling.

“Had to goad you somehow. Get a sense of humor.”

“Do us both a favor and lose yours.”

~*~*~*~*~   
  
“Welcome to the Soul Tombs.” Lyrika announces as the group of 5 arrived arrived at their location. The large temple-like building had a very ominous air to it, and occasionally one of the native Outworld creatures would fly overhead. Khamaleon looks very nervous, fidgeting with the shoulder strap of her bag. 

“D-Do we have to go in there?” She asks, “Can’t we just throw that bomb in now?”

“We have to get to the heart of the Soul Tombs and throw it in there. It is the only way to ensure it’s total destruction.” Raiden answers, “You didn’t have to come with us, Khameleon.”

“I know, but you guys need a Team Medic.” She retorts, “Who knows what dangerous things lie in the depths? Plus if this helps anger the Emperor, I’m all for it!” 

“Good, keep that attitude. We’re all gonna need it.” Rei grins, cracking her knuckles. Lyrika stops her before she starts to head in.   
  
“Hold up there, madam.” He says, “There’s a few things I gotta warn you all about before we head in first. First of all, if it looks suspicious or out of place, don’t touch it. Second, watch out for the rock throwing faces. Those things have good aim, and I lost one of my old looting buddies to them. And lastly, like I said earlier, I haven’t been to the depths myself, so I cannot confirm if the Hellbeast rumor is true or not. We all need to stay together, separation is a no-go.” 

“Seems like you know your way around quite well, siren.” Bi-Han notes, Lyrika shrugging. 

“Like I said, I just loot the place for stuff to sell. Gotta make Koin somehow.” 

“Quit y’all’s yappin’ and let’s go!” Rei shouts, “The sooner we blow up this place, the better. I’m already getting the need to pick up another Spectrite or two.” 

The group head into the Tomb Entrance, everyone but Rei and Bi-Han having a weapon drawn just in case they encountered trouble on the inside. The room they came into was a fairly large one. A spiked pit was in the center, and two large grinders were operating to the left and right of it. There was for hallways leading to different areas, but only three of the hallways were accessible. The hallway to their right had a red symbol above the door, the hallway to their left had a green symbol above the door, and the hallway at the upper left had a blue symbol. 

“Which way do we go? There’s three paths we can take.” Raiden asks Lyrika, the siren looking around. 

“Red Path first. I know it very well.” He advises, “Follow m-”

Two blade sparks strike Lyrika in the back, the siren crying out as he stumbled forward. Raiden and Bi-Han turn to see a group of Tarkata emerging from the Blue Path, rushing towards them. Bi-Han takes the easy method and freezes the floor ahead of them. The Tarkata couldn’t stop themselves in time, slipping on the icy floor and straight into the pit in the center of the room. Rei snorts in amusement.

“It’s always the simplest things that prove most effective, huh?”

Bi-Han just turns to her with a small smirk as the sounds of Tarkata dying growls and bones being sliced through are heard. 

“Very much. It’s also why Sektor hated me with every fiber of his being. You ok, pinkie?” 

Lyrika was fixing his vest, having examined it for burn damage. “I’m fine, luckily no burn damage… Anyways, as I was trying to say earlier, follow me.” 

He and the others head into the Red Hallway, Raiden getting his staff out to be on the safe side. Khameleon kept close to him and Rei, still unnerved. They soon entered a room that was rather dark and looked to have a crevasse on the side. On the other side were jail cells, all that had either dying Outworld prisoners or skeletons inside. Rei goes to the crevasse, seeing lava at the bottom.

“That’s a hell of a fall if one ain’t careful.” She muses, “I don’t think anyone but a Fire Element could survive it.”

“I highly doubt that, Rei.” Raiden says as he joins her, “Things are different here. Even if one were a Fire Element here, they cannot survive falling into lava.” 

“That’s bullshit.” She looks annoyed, “Back home, Fire Element Asali are able to be in it with no problems. Why’s everything to backwards here in your realms?” 

Raiden just shrugs. “I do not know the answer to that one.” 

The two get back up, joining Lyrika, Bi-Han, and Khameleon as they came to two separate pathways: one leading straight ahead and the other heading to the right. 

“Which way?” the Saurian asks, moving away from the cell she was close to due to one of the still alive prisoners trying to grab her bag. She swats his hand away, looking stern.

“I usually go to the right, but let’s try straight ahead.” Lyrika says, the group following him. They enter a large incinerator room, the temperature rather hot. Bi-Han starts getting pale, looking unwell. Khameleon notices this, holding him up before he could fall down.

“You ok?” She asks, worried.

“Too hot in here…” he groans, “I feel really weak all of a sudden…” 

“Ice Element Asali are very weak to heat and fire, that’s why.” Rei says, looking concerned herself, “We need to get through here quickly, Bi-Han could get heat stroke just by being in here for more than 10 minutes.”

Three pillars of flame shot up from the floor, Khameleon yelping in surprise. “How are we going to get through that?!” 

“If we wait until the pillars go down and move as fast as we can, we can cross without injury.” Raiden takes Bi-Han from Khameleon, floating in the air, “We just have to look for the opportunity.” 

“Speak not of this to anyone.” Bi-Han looks annoyed at the fact that he had to be carried, “Or else I will ensure a quick death…” 

Raiden ignores him, watching the pattern of the flame pillars carefully. He waits for a minute before quickly flying towards the other end of the room, avoiding the flame pillars as they shot up behind him. However, his victory was short lived as he took a look at the door that was before him. It was shut, and there didn’t seem to be anyway to open it. He thought about just using himself as a battering ram to go straight through it, but Bi-Han’s safety was more important. 

“What is it, Raiden?” Rei yells, “We got to get Bi-Han out of the heat!” 

“The door’s shut here! The way to open it must be somewhere else!” Raiden yells back. Bi-Han was growing paler by the minute, and more angrier, damn near clawing Raiden’s arm hard enough to draw blood. Raiden just glares at him before swiftly returning to the others, the group quickly retreating out of the room and away from the heat. Once they returned to the other room, Rei plucks a chunk out of Bi-Han’s shadow via Shadow Mimic and uses her temporary freezing powers to make a chair with. Raiden sets the elder Sub-Zero in it, the Asali immediately starting to feel better. 

“I…. am not going back in there.” was the first thing he said once he cooled down enough. Rei just chuckles while Raiden looked over his own arm to make sure he wasn’t bleeding.

~*~*~*~*~

Once Bi-Han was back to normal, they decided to take the other path, Lyrika leading the way. It takes them to a room with a very lovely view outside, some skeletons hanging near the opening in the wall. Immediately, Khameleon and Rei were in awe, going over to look out. 

“This is so cool! Look at this view!” Rei beams.

“I can see Sun Do from here!” Khameleon adds.  

“Focus, ladies. We got stuff to do.” Bi-Han reminds them, seeing a wall of skulls nearby and starting to climb it. Raiden just floats up there, Lyrika, Rei, and Khameleon following in behind the Cryomancer. All that’s there was a ledge with another lookout and a pillar that looked ready to fall apart any minute now. Bi-Han sees this, and lightly pushes on it with his foot, causing the pillar to immediately crumble and fall to the ground, smashing into rubble. 

“Outworld’s architecture really went to the dumps.” Khameleon jokes, Rei giggling at that. 

“Over there!” Lyrika points to another pathway that was above the one they came from. As they walked that way and through it, Rei decides to check the bag again, curious. Raiden watches her, wondering would would come out of the bag next. Rei ends up pulling out a water bottle, smiling.

“At least Mom thought of the necessities too.” She says, giving it to Raiden, the Thunder God giving her a nod as he opened it up to get a sip of it, “Gotta stay hydrated!”

“Oh dear….” Khameleon muses as they walk outside. They were now at at cliff side, the path to the other side of the canyon being made out of a walkway with spikes that shot up from it. Several guards were patrolling the area, three of which were walking in front of metal spiked walls, two of which were at the groups’ left and right. The guards didn’t seem to notice them, one asleep and the other busy daydreaming. 

“Talk about Legos on Brutal Difficulty.” Rei says, watching as spikes shot up from the pathway in front of them. 

“No kidding.” Bi-Han adds, “Gonna be hard to time the spik-”

Lyrika ran past them and onto the spiked floor, leaping over the spikes as they came up and timing it perfectly. This would have been quite an impressive feat if it weren’t for the fact that Raiden just teleports to the other side, reappearing near a lever in the ground just as Lyrika got there. The pink clad Siren looks quite annoyed.

“Really?” he asks as Raiden inspects the lever.

“Yes, really.” Raiden answers Lyrika, looking back at the rest of the group. Rei just waves while Khameleon examined the spiked wall to her left and Bi-Han looking bored. He looks at Lyrika again.

“What does this lever activate?” He asks, putting both hands on the lever. Lyrika smiles under his veil.

“Pull it and find out, oh great Thunder God.” Lyrika says. Raiden just blinks, and with a growl, pulls the lever back.   
  
**WHAM!!**

“EEEEEEEEEEK!!!” Khameleon screeches as the wall suddenly slammed down, crushing the guard in front of it and scattering bits and pieces of him everywhere. The guard on the other side of them didn’t seem to notice as he was watching something else, distracted. Rei and Bi-Han also looked startled, but mostly at the sudden blood splatter on them. The elder Sub-Zero looked a bit disgusted while Rei looks annoyed.

“Give a warning next time, ya rotten eggplant!” She yelled at Raiden in anger. Lyrika just laughs in amusement, but suddenly screams as Raiden grabs him by the collar of his vest and hem of his pants and throws him back over to the others before teleporting to the other side just in time to catch him by his face. Now Rei was laughing her ass off, and Lyrika looks furious as Raiden put him back down. 

“There’s your warning.” the Thunder God says, “Is there another one of those levers?”   


“Over here!” 

They all turn to see Khameleon at the next lever down from where the first wall collapsed. She waves at them.

“This one might go to the other one!!” She shouts, starting to pull on it with all her might. However, unlike Raiden, she had a lot of trouble, not being as strong as he is. The other guard finally saw what was going on, and grabs his weapon.

“You’re not supposed to be here!! Intruders!!” He yells, charging forward. However, just as he got into rage of the spike wall, Khameleon had finally pulled the lever, falling onto her butt as she did so. The guard barely had time to react as he was promptly made into chopped meat, Rei looking disgusted as she was splattered with more blood and guts. 

“Can’t this place be a bit less gruesome?!” She says, flicking a piece of brain matter off her shoulder. Bi-Han just casually removes some guts that got splattered onto his shoulder with a deadpan look.

“What were you expecting here in Outworld? Sunshine and unicorns?” He dodges a shadow needle from the angry Asali. Khameleon returns to the group, happy of her feat of strength. 

“There has to be one more of those levers around here somewhere.” She looks around. From the path where the second guard got crushed as a path leading to the third lever. The guard near that wall seemed to be the smart one, having a bow ready. Raiden teleports over to the third lever, and before the guard could react, Raiden pushes the lever down with a mighty kick, and just like that, the third guard was mince meat. This also seemed to stop the spikes from coming out of the floor. The four across the way notice this, making their way forward, the Thunder God teleporting back to them. 

After crossing the canyon and going through another incinerator room that wasn’t active, they come to a room with a view like the other one… and a spiked ceiling. Both Rei and Lyrika look up at it, seeming nervous. 

“One wrong move and you’re a ceiling ornament.” Lyrika says, “Be careful in here.” 

They spread around the room, looking around. The other side seemed to be caved in, and in the center of the room looked to be some sort of mechanism, three large, golden Mortal Kombat symbols lay atop of it. Raiden sees this and goes to inspect it, curious. What could this thing be used for? He doesn’t see Rei joining him, the Asali looking at it as well.

“...what a waste of good gold.” she says, getting Raiden’s attention. 

“I will agree with you there. Such a waste indeed.” he nods, Rei giggling, “However, it’s placement here is quite strange….”

“What if it’s what’s keeping that one door closed in the room Bi-Han won’t go in again?” 

“...” Raiden seems to have an idea, wordlessly ushering her back before putting his hands together, focusing. Khameleon, Lyrika, and Bi-Han join Rei as they watched, the four looking rather confused. After a minute, Lyrika spoke up.

“What are you do-”   


“HIYAAAAH!!!” Raiden roars as he brought his hand down on the coins, smashing them into bits and pieces. A small pillar rose up from underneath the rubble, and the sound of a door opening somewhere was faintly heard. Raiden winced a bit, shaking his hand to get the stinging to go away. 

“...eh, whatever works. Dibs!!” Lyrika went forward to pick up the pieces for himself. Raiden just rolls his eyes. 

“Now, we go see what’s in that room.” 


End file.
